Supporters Direct news feed

Cambridge Fans United pass the �1,000,000 mark in their bid to repurchase the Abbey Stadium

Cambridge Fans United's bold scheme to buy-back The Abbey Stadium from Bideawhile for the benefit of the Club, fans and the wider community received a huge boost yesterday with news of a single confirmed pledge of £250,000. There have now been in excess of 600 individual pledges - taking the running total at this moment to in excess of £1M with more pledges coming through all the time.

Mersey Vikings Launch in Style!

The Mersey Vikings Wheelchair Rugby League team launched with a bang this weekend with three hugely successful events organised by Trust in Widnes - the supporters trust made up of Widnes Vikings supporters.

I tifosi italiani dicono NO alla possibilit� che l'Italia ospiti Euro 2016

È dura la vita dei tifosi di calcio in Italia. Già severe e spesso assurde, le misure restrittive che regolano l'accesso agli stadi italiani sono state ulteriormente rafforzate di recente, ed ora perfino gli striscioni precedentemente autorizzati possono essere rifiutati. Un esempio illuminante: uno striscione con scritto "Genoa for children" (un club di tifosi rossoblù che lavora con bambini e giovani) è stato vietato in occasione di una partita del Genoa.

Italian fans say no to Euro 2016/I tifosi italiani dicono no a Euro 2016/Italienischen Fans sagen Nein zum Euro 2016

It's a very hard time to be a football fan in Italy. Evelina Pecciarini, who provides support for the nascent supporters' trust movement in Italy, tells us why, and why as a result of their poor treatment fans have decided to turn their backs on hosting the World's second biggest football tournament.

Already rigid and often absurd, the restrictive measures that rule the access to Italian stadia have been recently further increased, and even previously ‘authorised' banners are now not allowed, for example: a banner that said "Genoa for children" (a supporters' club that works with kids) was prohibited at a Genoa match!

Cardiff City Supporters' Trust/Supporters' Club Joint Statement

The supporters of Cardiff City were relieved to hear the club has been given a further 56 days by the High Court to clear its outstanding tax debts. However, fans were also alarmed to hear the Bluebirds described as "plainly insolvent" by the barrister representing Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Celtic gone

Reading the headline might make you fear for the future of one of the two Glasgow giants (and let's face it, we all need to be wary about the future of our clubs in the current climate), but it's actually Farsley Celtic of the Conference North who have bowed out of football. That makes it the third club in the top three tiers of non-league football, and the second in the Blue Square (Football) Conference to go bust this season.

MUST Membership passes 120,000

It's difficult not to notice the MUST campaign to change the ownership of Manchester United. It's been hitting the headlines as it sailed past the 40, 50, 60 and 70 thousand mark.

Fans can run clubs? "Yes", says Lord Triesman - plus Pitch Invasion special on fan ownership.

Lord Triesman, Chairman of The FA, has come out in favour of supporter-ownership - reported widely in the media on Monday.

Chester City wound up: City Fans United statement

At 11.12am this morning, City Fans United were made aware that Chester City FC’s 125 year history had come to an end in the High Court of Justice, with the Liquidation of the company owned by the Vaughan family.

CFU acknowledge that this day was inevitable based on the huge debts that were built up in such a short space of time by the previous owners. Now is the time to look forward, and begin a new era for football in Chester.

City Fans United will be making a further statement on the announcement shortly.

UEFA meets Supporters Direct and FSE

Yesterday, Football Supporters Europe and Supporters Direct met with UEFA to further improve the dialogue between them.