Mission and History

Mission Statement

"Our goal is promote sustainable spectator sports clubs based on supporters' involvement & community ownership"

What do we do?
SD Europe History

What do we do?

• Supporters Direct campaigns for the wider recognition of the social, cultural and economic value of sports clubs
• Supporters Direct provides guidance and support to groups in more than 16 countries throughout Europe
• Sports clubs and competitions are increasingly being put at risk by short-term vested interests, poor financial management and inadequate standards of governance; we are the UK's leading body working to ensure that clubs are run responsibly and are financially sustainable
• Supporters Direct aims to create the conditions in which supporters can secure influence and ownership of sports clubs
• Supporters Direct promotes the value of supporter ownership to sports fans, empowering them to set up supporters' trusts or become members of existing trusts
• Supporters Direct is a community benefit society, owned by its members

 SD Europe History (more on SD's other work)

• In 2006, UEFA agreed to fund research into the feasibility of a European arm of SD, helping give advice and support to fans across Europe who wish to become involved in the ownership, management and governance of their clubs. The study was launched against a backdrop of the European Sports Review and European Parliament's Report on the future of professional football in Europe. Research identified that there were organised groups of fans in many European countries who wished to become involved in the running of their clubs and needed advice and support.
• SD received a further grant from UEFA to assess how we could provide practical assistance to service the demand as well as providing support to that first wave of groups we had identified in the course of the research. 
• SD Europe will provide services and contribute to raise awareness, disseminate information about good practice and raise standards among supporters groups. This will help create partners in dialogue, which would benefit most importantly the groups