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���������� Introduction Over recent
years, there has been a significant development in the provision of support
and advice services for football fans from a number of European countries as
they travel abroad following their team. Building on an initiative first
undertaken by the Football Supporters� Association among England fans at
Italia �90, there has been a parallel development in several countries of
�Fans� Embassy� services to travelling fans. In the course of these events,
there have been a number of qualitative developments in the nature of service
provided. Euro 96 to Euro 2000 At Euro �96 in
England, for the first time a supporters� organisation from the host nation
provided a fans� embassy service for visiting fans, involving multi-lingual
guide material, goodwill events and close liaison with the agencies
accompanying visiting fans. The World Cup in France in 1998 saw both the FSA
and the German Fan Projekte organising mobile fans� embassies accompanying
the fans of their national sides through the tournament. Euro 2000 married
together and built on both of these practices, by the establishment of fans�
embassy services in each of the host cities working in close co-ordination
with mobile fans� embassy or fan-coaching teams among the supporters of each
competing country, pulled together primarily by the Dutch Eurosupport
organisation. Core organisations In the course of
these activities, and in particular at Euro 2000, groups from many countries
were involved at least sporadically, which illustrates the potential for the
development of this work. Nonetheless, there is a clear core group of
organisations that have carried out this type of work on a consistent basis
and with a large degree of international co-operation � the German Fan
Projekte through KOS, Eurosupport with the Dutch fan projects, Progetto Ultra
from Italy, and England�s FSA. Of course,
between each of the international tournaments these organisations were active
in their own respective countries at various levels, and each has their own
distinct methodology. There are clear differences in terms of reference and
approach, for example between the social workers of the German and Dutch fan
projects on the one hand, and the independent membership-based campaigning
supporters� organisation that is the FSA. There are even differences of
emphasis and approach in terms of day-to-day practice between the fan project
social workers of different countries. Nonetheless, experience has shown that
there is a clear and substantial overlap in activities and informing
principles in many of the core activities at international matches. Experience and know-how There is more
than just experience that binds these four core organisations together. We
are united by a commitment to common principles of international goodwill, of
anti-racism, of the empowerment of grassroots football supporters, of
promoting a positive football supporters� culture. We have accumulated
between us an unrivalled amount of experience and know-how of the needs of
travelling football supporters. Our successful common work has been based on
the premise that we do collectively that which we all have in common in terms
of advice and support, and allow each other the freedom to augment that work
with our specialisms, be they social work or fans� campaigning. The next stage While there has
clearly been much progress made over recent years in enhancing the quality
and breadth of services provided in support of football fans internationally,
and the degree of international co-operation between the specialist
organisations, there remains enormous scope for further development. �
Club matches Most of the work in support of fans travelling abroad has been at
matches involving national teams, whether at tournaments, qualifying matches
or friendlies. Significantly more fans travel abroad in Europe supporting
club sides in Champions� League or UEFA Cup matches, however. �
Network development There is scope for a significant increase in the number of countries
involved in the provision of similar services. Moreover, the extension of fan
support services to club matches implies a far greater number of
undertakings, with a consequent increase required in the numbers of groups
equipped to carry out this work. �
Central
co-ordination Greater efficiency
could be achieved by a centralised bank of useful information, contact lists,
city guide material, travel and accommodation information, local laws and
regulations etc, avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort. �
Best practice models Experience has allowed conclusions to be drawn as to successful and
useful methods, with greater or lesser degrees of sophistication depending on
funding, staffing levels etc. These could be developed into best practice
models for generalised use. �
Training and
supervision If greater numbers
of participating groups are to be drawn into this area of work without a
dilution of effectiveness, there is a clear need for a programme of training
and supervision to enable the passing on of vital experience. �
Relations with
football authorities The degree of
interaction with and support from the football authorities has varied between
countries. While a crucial part of the effectiveness of fans� embassy
services stems from their independent position as �for fans, by fans�, there
is no doubt that the impact they have on enhancing supporter experiences is
of direct and indirect benefit to football authorities. Public recognition of
this contribution and a measure of financial support should be a minimum;
full integration of embassy services into tournament arrangements should
become a standard for future UEFA- and FIFA-run championships. Proposal � for an integrated international
partnership In order to make
significant progress across the spectrum of areas mentioned above, a new
stage of organisational development is required. The four named organisations
involved in this area of work believe that we now have a sufficiently strong
mutual confidence and respect, along with a substantial common core sphere of
activity, to enable us to come together in an international partnership. It is therefore
proposed to establish Football Supporters International as an international
organisation for the provision and development of support services to
football supporters travelling abroad. By establishing an international
bureau to co-ordinate activities involving fans of teams from more than one
country we can greatly enhance the efforts currently being made by each of
our organisations individually. We set as the initial objectives of this
organisation: �
The collation of guide
information to European cities likely to be involved in football at a
European level. This to be assembled in collaboration with supporters�
organisations at the clubs concerned, drawing on their supporter-specific
local knowledge and seeking to encourage their participation in goodwill
events. �
The creation of a website
displaying this information in an accessible and regularly updated form. �
The maintenance of a database of
contacts of use in this sphere of activities � e.g. supporters� groups,
relevant club and national FA contacts, local authorities, specialist police
contacts (match commanders etc) �
Development of a repository of
experience and know-how of fans� embassy-type activities, with the aim of
producing flexible best practice models of relevance to varying degrees of
organisation. �
The provision of training and
guidance for �new� fan groups seeking to initiate or develop activities along
the lines described. �
Monitoring of fans� experiences
and treatment at football matches abroad. �
Piloting innovative schemes
designed to encourage positive interaction between supporter groups. �
Developing initiatives to
promote the principles of �self-policing� among football fans. �
Offering advice where requested
on the treatment and policing of supporter groups, and participating in the
provision of fans� embassy services at international tournaments. �
All of the above to be
underpinned by our principles of opposition to violence, racism and
xenophobia, the promotion of football as a means of propagating friendship
across national and cultural boundaries, and client and client group
confidentiality. It is clear that
the achievement of the above objectives would be of enormous benefit to all
parties within the �football family�. It is equally clear however that to
achieve them will require a significant upgrading of the amount of work
carried out on the international plane, and that it is essential that the
quality and professionalism of this work is maintained. A logical
consequence therefore is that such an international organisation must have
adequate resources and worker-time to enable it to establish and maintain an
effective co-ordination bureau. An urgent next step following on from the
launch of this partnership is therefore securing the funding, from sources
within football and from governments national and international, to allow our
efforts to develop. Football Supporters� Association Koordinationsstelle Fan-projekte Progetto Ultra Eurosupport |
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