Big Plans for 2019!

January saw our first SLO development and networking day of 2019. With SLOs now in place at 28 of our 42 SPFL clubs significant progress has been made to improve the dialogue and communication between clubs and fans. 13 SLOs were able to spend a Sunday afternoon at Ibrox sharing their experiences, with a particular focus on Conflict Resolution skills. A full programme of events is in place for the rest of the year, where we will be taking these events on the road around the country.

We will confirm details of the rest of our planned 2019 activities in the near future. Watch this space!

FansBet: Giving Back

2019 got off to a great start for our partner FansBet, who were at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro as official sponsors of the Star Sixes tournament.

The tournament, which took place at the beginning of January, is a six-a-side tournament consisting of teams representing Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England and the Rest of the World.

Scotland boasted a star-studded team with the likes of former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson and ex-Celtic stars Jackie McNamara, Simon Donnelly and Mark Burchill. Representing the other teams were Robert Pires, Michael Owen and Gaizka Mendieta to name a few.

The big match of the weekend was on the middle day, when Scotland beat England 4-1, but there was also another important match (with slightly less media attention!) between two groups of fan partners - get a taste of the action here.

Also check out a special episode of Behind The Goals where we interviewed a couple of players straight after one of the decisive moments of the final day's action.

The event was a resounding success and a great opportunity for FansBet to meet up with numerous Scottish fan partners that will be involved in their giving back campaign.

One fan partner that was able to attend the event was Clyde Glasgow Branch, who will be working alongside FansBet as the bookmaker remains committed to supporting as many fan causes and projects as possible.

Dean McKirdy and Dom Jack, from Clyde Glasgow Branch, had this to say on the tournament:

"I would just like to say a quick thank you to FansBet for providing the opportunity to both play in the Scotland v England fans match on the pitch at the Hydro as well as meeting so many legends of football at the event on Saturday night.

"A true once in a life time occasion and memories that I won’t forget in a hurry!"

AGM and Election Process

In December 2017 we incorporated locally in Scotland as an independent organisation, which means our first AGM is coming up in the second quarter of 2019, along with elections to the SD Scotland board. Only organisations who have signed up as members for the 2018/19 season, and individual members contributing via Patreon, will be eligible to take part in the election - so please don't forget about it!

Supporter Groups' sign-up page

Individual Members' sign-up page

National survey results due soon!

2018/19 marks the first year of our three-year benchmarking study of supporters opinions, in partnership with the Scottish FA and SPFL. The results of this season's Scottish Football Supporters Survey will be published in the coming weeks, and we have been busy behind the scenes briefing clubs on the key messages emerging from the survey.

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.

Read more..

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.

1. Scottish Clubs Need To Continually Look To Improve Fan Experiences
2. Rangers Or Celtic? Why There’s Much More To Glaswegian Football!
3. We Need To Stop The Hate!
4. Looking At The Exciting Scottish Premiership Title Race

We also paid a visit to Glasgow's Cathkin Park to loearn about the progress of a redevelopment of the iconic ground.

Subscribe to our channel to see more!

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