Welcome to the new Scottish Supporters Network newsletter, brought to you by Supporters Direct Scotland. This newsletter aims to bring our members closer together and better informed of news and best practice from across the network.

SD Scotland Response to Betfred Cup Semi-Final Scheduling

Following the SPFL’s decision to schedule both Betfred Cup semi-final matches at Hampden on the same day, the board of Supporters Direct Scotland have been discussing the need for the football authorities to put supporters’ needs much higher in their list of priorities than seems to have been the case in this decision.

We are concerned about the impact that the scheduling of these matches will have on the safety and wellbeing of supporters of all four clubs travelling to and from the matches from around the country, of the impact this will have on their matchday experience, and we sympathise with the Scottish Police Federation’s concerns about the difficulties in policing two matches of this nature so close together.

Fans are the lifeblood of the game, and in this instance the frustrations of the four sets of fans appear to be shared by the clubs they support. We appreciate the difficulties of arranging matches in a congested fixture schedule, and understand that there might be no perfect solution in this case, but would encourage the SPFL to engage closely with the four clubs and their supporters’ groups to find an acceptable resolution to this issue.

Membership Renewals

Membership renewals are underway, with member trusts gradually signing up to our new Go Cardless membership system, at the reduced price of £50. We welcome new applications from democratic supporters groups (full criteria for membership are available on request).

A few trusts have notified us of difficulties signing up with Go Cardless, as they need two signatories on the direct debit form. If this is the case for you, when you visit the Go Cardless site, fill in your bank details, then select the option where more than one signature is required. This then allows you to download a mandate for signing and you can then take it into a bank branch.

And for the first time, we are opening up our membership to individuals as well as supporter groups. If you would like to join as an Individual Member you can do so on a pay-as-you like basis via the Scottish Supporters Network Patreon page.

Group and individual members can attend our annual Supporters Summit free of charge, will receive news of all SDS work and publications, and can stand for election to the SDS board.

We are committed to keeping all of our work accessible to everyone, whether members or not. To keep up-to-date you can become an Affiliate Member by joining the Scottish Supporters Network free of charge.

2018 Supporters' Summit

This year's summit took place at Fir Park, Motherwell last month.

Read a report from the summary on the Scottish Supporters Network site, and listen to the Behind The Goals episode to hear interviews with speakers and attendees.

2018 Supporters' Survey Closed

SD Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish FA and SPFL, last month conducted this year's annual survey of football supporters. Results are currently being analysed, but early indications are that progress has been made on the three big themes identified in last year's survey: "Value For Money", "Fan Engagement" and "The Supporter Experience".

Watch this space for further news of this year's findings.

Behind The Goals Podcast

Andrew and Alan have both been on holiday in September, but the podcast will be back soon! In the meantime, catch up on recent episodes:

Check out all our previous episodes and subscribe to the podcast using your favoured ‘podcatcher’ here.

Round Up

As part of our objective to better connect fans, share best practice within Scottish sport, to promote supporter dialogue and promote sport clubs through which positive societal change can occur, here we share some relevant stories from the past month.

Want to have your say? Contact us at info@supporters-direct.scot

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