Supporters represented at the SFA Council

First published in Sons View, 07 May 2011, Dumbarton -v- Forfar Athletic

For the first time in the modern history of the game, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) has welcomed a fans’ representative to a meeting of their Council. In addition to Supporters Direct’s attendance there were also representatives of the players, managers, disabled sports and the media.

The Sonstrust has continued to play a positive role in Supporters Direct – which links together Trusts across the country. Our own recruitment drive, fans’ survey and promotional activities have been warmly welcomed by SD – and we’re also helping them to launch a new campaigning blog called Changing Scottish Football.

On attending the SFA Council, Supporters Direct Scotland development manager, James Proctor, commented “We welcome the opportunity for a fans’ representative to attend the this meeting and speak directly to those in control of the Scottish game. It is clear from the McLeish report that there is a need to modernise the game and make the decision-making processes more representative. We hope that this first step heralds the start of a new co-operative relationship between the SFA and supporters.”

The McLeish report into the running of the SFA recommended that representatives of supporters, players, managers, coaches and referees should be involved in the structures of the SFA in order to properly represent the sport’s diverse interests. Sons fans also voted overwhelmingly for supporter involvement in the game’s governing bodies.
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Sons supporters speak out

First published in Sons View, 19 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- East Fife. An edited version also appears on the Supporters Direct website as Dumbarton Trust gives fans a voice.

The Supporters Trust at Dumbarton FC (called ‘Sonstrust’ after the club’s historic nickname – ‘the Sons of the Rock’) has held an online and stadium ballot to give fans a voice in the current debate over the future of Scottish football.

Full results will be announced next week, but hundreds have taken part and the interim findings suggest overwhelming opposition to the ‘regionalisation’ of the lower leagues and to SPL ‘colt’ teams playing in them – two of the proposals put forward by the SPL and the McLeish report.

Dumbarton supporters also back fan representation on the governing body of Scottish football, and the Sonstrust board is keen to work with others in Supporters Direct to ensure that the voice of fans – including the verdict of the SD survey – resonates at the highest levels within the game.

Sonstrust campaign coordinator Simon Barrow commented: “Football fans are used to being ignored, but at Dumbarton we’ve had a huge response to our online and stadium exercise in ‘direct democracy’. People have also been joining the Trust in record numbers, and are keen for a body like SD to be a really effective vehicle for grassroots-driven change in the game.”

Since the meeting of Scottish Trust representatives at Falkirk a month ago, the Sonstrust, which has over 300 members, has announced the results of a £1000 community bursary scheme (which has given three youth-oriented local projects a boost in funds), and is also holding a major recruitment drive running through to 19 March.

“Given that we already have half our regular home gate in the Sonstrust, we thought we might have ‘peaked’ – but we’ve already picked up a further 5%, said Barrow. “There’s a real appetite for supporter involvement in running clubs and shaping the future of the game. Our message to other Trusts is, ‘get out there, recruit, and get people involved’.”
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Dumbarton fans can make a big difference

First published in Sons View, 05 March 2011, Dumbarton -v- Livingston

The Sonstrust is continuing its drive to increase membership and secure a bigger say for Dumbarton fans in the future of the Club, and also the future of Scottish football as a whole.

Fans at today’s clash with Livingston will be getting a ballot paper asking for their vote on three important issues – whether the lower leagues should be regionalised, whether ‘colt’ teams from the SPL should be allowed to play in the second and third divisions, and whether there should be proper fan representation in the governing bodies of Scottish football.

If you’re reading this and haven’t had the chance to vote yet – fear not! You can also do so online at the Sonstrust page or the Facebook pages for either the Trust or Dumbarton FC.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS because the SPL has announced that it may be deciding on ‘reconstruction’ of the league (issues effecting ours too, not just theirs!) within “the next few weeks”.

The views of Dumbarton fans and ordinary supporters across the country therefore need to be heard loud and clear. Today’s vote will give the Sonstrust and the Club a mandate to push the SPL and the SFL to ensure that reforms take our wishes seriously – not just those of the big clubs, the Old Firm, the moneymen and the TV companies.

Similarly, joining the Sonstrust is the key way that ordinary fans can help secure the future of Dumbarton Football Club – both on the pitch and off it.

If you join up today or at the next home game, your membership – which costs just £10 – will count for the rest of this season and the whole of next season too. A bargain!

Just go to the Sonstrust Table in the Community Suite, see Tommy Hughes, or drop a note to secy@sonstrust.net.

What does the Trust do, what can it achieve and why is it really worth joining? Well, here are a few examples. The Sonstrust has succeeded in:

* Giving supporters a direct voice into Dumbarton FC
* Raising funds and developing facilities for the Club
* Heading up Matchday commercial activity at DFC
* Getting a fully-funded Club Director – paid off 6 years early
* Producing the DFC Matchday programme and developing/running the Club website
* ‘Meet the Manager’
* Working with Dumbarton Stadium Company Ltd (DCS)
* Better supporters’ bar facilities: TV, memorabilia, projector, etc.
* A whole range of social events
* Local community initiatives fund
* Annual match sponsorship – 2 or 3 games per season
* Sponsorship of Match Ballboys at DFC, donating tracksuits
* Management /co-ordination of season ticket distribution
* Raise the Rock days – helping to increase crowds and revenue
* Walk to the Rock – profile for the Club in the community

Equally important is the fact that joining the Trust (it’s easy – just fill out a quick form and give your tenner in!) also links you to dozens of other Trusts and thousands of fans across Scotland. And together our voice can be much, much stronger.

Last week Supporters Direct especially praised Sonstrust for its work in recruiting and involving fans. SD development officer James Proctor declared: “Strengthening individual Trusts and building the Trust movement in Scotland is really important at a time when big decisions are being made over the future of the game.

“Henry McLeish’s report into Scottish football recommends the inclusion of fans in the decision making of the SFA and the SPL have recently started to engage with supporters’ trusts and Supporters Direct over their proposals for reorganisation of the leagues. Therefore having a democratic and Scotland-wide fans organisation is an important step in improving the game and ensuring fans are represented.

“The Sonstrust at Dumbarton have set a great example with their recruitment drive, which is emphasising the importance of being part of Supporters Direct, as well as encouraging community ownership and giving fans a bigger say. We hope others will be inspired by their initiative.”

So please join the Trust, make sure that you 'Rock the Vote' today, and make your voice heard in the debate about the future of our game.
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Sonstrust praised by Trusts' group

Adapted from my article Praise for Sonstrust Campaign on the Sonstrust website.

Supporters Direct in Scotland has praised the membership and awareness-raising initiative launched by the Sonstrust at the Airdrie United game on 12 February 2011 – and says it hopes other Trusts will follow suit.

There was particular acknowledgment for the link between recruiting and involving fans in Dumbarton Football Club, and the current debate about the ‘reconstruction’ of Scottish football.

SD development officer James Proctor declared: “Strengthening individual Trusts and building the Trust movement in Scotland is really important at a time when big decisions are being made over the future of the game.

“Henry McLeish’s report into Scottish football recommends the inclusion of fans in the decision making of the SFA and the SPL have recently started to engage with supporters’ trusts and Supporters Direct over their proposals for reorganisation of the leagues. Therefore having a democratic and Scotland-wide fans organisation is an important step in improving the game and ensuring fans are represented.

“The Sonstrust at Dumbarton have set a great example with their recruitment drive, which is emphasising the importance of being part of Supporters Direct, as well as encouraging community ownership and giving fans a bigger say. We hope others will be inspired by their initiative.”
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A Scottish League, not a regional one

This article first appeared as Is 'regionalisation' dead? on the Sonstrust website. 

The future of Scottish football still depends on hints, rumours and second- or third-hand reports of meetings behind closed doors. But there is one bit of good news, apparently.

According to the BBC and Jim Spence, “[p]roposals to regionalise the lower divisions in the Scottish Football League are dead”, following the meeting on Thursday 17 February between the SPL, the SFL and the SFA.

Spence quotes one (anonymous) Third Division chair as saying: “Clubs want to play in a Scottish league, not a regional set up. The proposal has gone. It is dead in the water… We are in a consultation period just now with the SPL about their views for the game and we will canvas opinion to see whether there is interest in a pyramid system. But I’m not sure there is any real interest.”

Whether moves towards a pyramid – which many favour on its own terms – is straightforwardly co-terminus with regionalisation of what are now the Second and Third Divisions is a moot point, of course.

Equally, whether the rumour-mill is correct on the demise of the regionalisation proposal remains to be seen. It’s good if it is, but continuing pressure from supporters is necessary – not least because there appears to be much more ambivalence about the idea of SPL ‘colts’ being forced on the lower leagues.

Meanwhile, Sonstrust is pushing Supporters Direct to keep the pressure up. While we are driving forward with membership and publicity, little direct seems to have come out of SD since the gathering of Trusts in Falkirk a month ago (if you’ll pardon the pun!). But we hope to have more to report next week – and behind the scenes, the negotiation with the footballing authorities is ongoing.
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Dead in the water?

This article appeared as Is ‘Regionalisation’ Dead? on the Sonstrust website.

The future of Scottish football still depends on hints, rumours and second- or third-hand reports of meetings behind closed doors. But there is one bit of good news, apparently.

According to the BBC and Jim Spence, “[p]roposals to regionalise the lower divisions in the Scottish Football League are dead”, following the meeting on Thursday 17 February between the SPL, the SFL and the SFA.

Spence quotes one (anonymous) Third Division chair as saying: “Clubs want to play in a Scottish league, not a regional set up. The proposal has gone. It is dead in the water… We are in a consultation period just now with the SPL about their views for the game and we will canvas opinion to see whether there is interest in a pyramid system. But I’m not sure there is any real interest.”

Whether moves towards a pyramid – which many favour on its own terms – is straightforwardly co-terminus with regionalisation of what are now the Second and Third Divisions is a moot point, of course.

Equally, whether the rumour-mill is correct on the demise of the regionalisation proposal remains to be seen. It’s good if it is, but continuing pressure from supporters is necessary – not least because there appears to be much more ambivalence about the idea of SPL ‘colts’ being forced on the lower leagues.

Meanwhile, Sonstrust is pushing Supporters Direct to keep the pressure up. While we are driving forward with membership and publicity, little direct seems to have come out of SD since the gathering of Trusts in Falkirk a month ago (if you’ll pardon the pun!). But we hope to have more to report soon – and behind the scenes, the negotiation with the footballing authorities is ongoing.
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All on board the Sonstrust!

A number of us have been busy over the past week getting ready for the Sonstrust membership and awareness promotional drive - linked to the obvious need to build the supporters' movement and get the voice of fans much more prominently heard in the current debate about the future of the game in Scotland. At the moment it is TV execs, the Old Firm and a small coterie within the SPL who are driving the agenda.

Anyway, there will be leaflets seeking 'A Tenner To Help Save Scottish Football' at the Dumbarton versus Airdrie United game on Saturday, and then follow-up events at the next two home games. We also plan to generate some publicity, energy and awareness about what the Trust does.

For those who don't know, Sonstrust is a provident (cooperative) society, and a kind of 'fans union'. It has a financial stake in the club, a director (who also runs the commercial side at DFC), puts on social events, has refurbed the Supporters' Bar, sponsored matches and a Youth Development scheme, set up a Dumbarton community initiatives fund ... and much, much more. It's amazing what fans can do when they get together.

Perhaps the biggest challenge, though, is being part of the Supporters Direct campaign over 'league reconstruction'' and other changes currently being mooted in the corridors of power about the future of the Scottish game. Ensuring that smaller clubs, supporters and communities are at the heart of these changes - rather than being "done to" from on high and expected to put up with whatever is foisted on them - is what it's all about. Not an easy call, but SD are getting their act together, and strengthening the Trust movement is vital to ensure the common voice is strong.
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A matter of ownership

Modern football isn't just sport, it's big business these days - well, big business for some, and small business, survival or worse for many others (the majority, in fact). So the question of who owns and shapes the game in Scotland is central to the current debates about league restructuring and future development...

This article, 'Who really owns Scottish football?', continues here on my work blog, for the thinktank Ekklesia.
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Far more than a 'talking shop'

Scottish football is undoubtedly under threat. Recession, lack of investment at the grassroots, falling attendances, lack of quality and variety in the game, the corrosive effects of massive economic inequality, vested interests, structural debt, mismanagement and poor governance are among the obvious symptoms and causes.

But Scottish football also has significant human resources. Even in these tough times, more fans turn out to watch live games in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe (per head of population). The commitment and sheer hard work demonstrated at every level - from the dressing room to the training ground to the terraces - remains remarkable. The goodwill is there. And most of the money still comes from the turnstiles.

But perhaps the most important development in recent years has been the growth of direct fan involvement and stakeholding in clubs - encouraged, backed and resourced by Supporters Direct in Scotland and elsewhere.

Yesterday I joined three other members of the Sonstrust and some 50 people from 33 clubs, along with SD staff and representatives, at a gathering in Falkirk aimed at enabling Trust and supporters to make an effective response to the McLeish report on the future of the Scottish game and the Scottish Premier League proposals for reconstruction - which in the view of many SFL fans more-or-less cut off smaller professional clubs and threaten to turn them into little more than junior outfits. (A fuller report is on the Sonstrust site here, and more will appear in the issue of Sons View being prepared for the coming Dumbarton game against Brechin City.)

At present all the 'reconstruction' running is being made by the SPL elite and their backers. The SFL seems to have been wrong-footed completely, the wishes of supporters have been disregarded almost completely, the second part of the McLeish review has not shown the independence of mind and willingness to challenge vested interests many were hoping for, and attempts to look at alternatives have been pushed aside with blether, spin and prawn cocktail diplomacy by Neil Doncaster and his cohorts.

But this is far from the end of the story. At Saturday's meeting, Supporters Direct Scotland were encouraged to push for genuine consultation, to press the results of their recent Survey (which said no to a ten-team SPL, and cast massive doubt an opposition towards regionalised lower leagues and to 'B' or 'Colt' SPL interlopers), to get the SFL to be properly proactive, to continue to develop financially workable and sustainable alternative proposals, and to challenge the SPL towards transparency and accountability in its dealings, data and negotiations.

It will be a tough haul. But it's definately worth the effort. Despite the current propaganda, what is on the table from the SPL at the moment is still far from a done deal. The bedrock of the game is with the supporters, and they are clearly dissatisfied. Supporters Direct can and should play a key role in making their voice heard and in galvanising a coherent response.

The meeting at Falkirk was a good start. There was little of the moaning that often accompanies these gatherings. The participants were thoughtful and determined. I did hear one person use that blessed put-down 'talking shop', but I think it was pretty clear to the great majority that (good quality) talking is precisely what we need to ensure that the conversation is enlarged, that those in power are held to account, and that some positive alternatives get onto the decision-making table(s).

There will, of course, be those who say "it can't be done". That's a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it's exactly what those with vested interests at the top of the tree want to hear. Changing fan culture from moaning-on-the-sidelines towards change-making isn't easy. For years supporters have been treated as fodder, and have learned to respond to this with that lethal cocktail of loyalty and passive aggression which the status quo craves - precisely in order to remain the status quo.

Thankfully, SD and the Trust movement gives them (us) a different, positive way of responding. There are no guarantees that the present struggle can be won, and the odds stacked against are considerable. But if you aim at nothing, you are pretty sure to hit it. It's also worth remembering that the numbers (if not the influence at the moment) are clearly with the fans. Add some media savvy, campaigning guile and sheer hard work and you have a recipe well worth trying.
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Get yer tips out for the lads!

Yeah, I know, a dead dodgy allusion -- but it got your attention, and it's offered in a definitely anti-sexist spirit, dripping with seasonal irony!  Anyway, the truth is, too many of the people who run Scottish football are (old) lads... and they definitely need your tips, whatever your genes or gender. To be specific, the Sonstrust (Dumbarton's democratic provident society, part of the fine Supporters' Direct, which has a stake in running the club) is wanting to canvass as wide a range of supporter opinion as possible about the 'reconstruction' plans. Then the idea is to get people involved in calling those involved in influencing outcomes in response to the McLeish Report (specifically DFC, the SFA and the SFL) to account and to dialogue. There’s never been a more important time for fans to stand together, to make a thoughtful and passionate response, and to ensure that changes to the future of our game benefit the many and not just the few. Click the 'comment button' at the end of this short article. If you're not a Dumbarton fan (astonishingly, there are such odd creatures out there, I realise...) then the SD questionnaire could be just the place for you to contribute. Indeed, it's already starting to be noticed.
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Supporters Direct survey on Scottish Football

With major proposals in the offing for a major reconstruction of Scottish football (on which more anon), Supporters Direct are asking supporters to complete a quick - but important - questionnaire on the major issues. These include plans to 'regionalise' the lower leagues (effectively end the national game below SPL level) and shoe-horn in B teams from the big clubs. Fans are being asked to take the time (5-10 minutes tops) to complete this survey online. By filling out the questionnaire yourself, and encouraging as many others as you can to do the same, you can help make it as representative as possible of supporter opinion in Scottish football. There's more on the Scottish Football Association's McLeish report here, by the way.
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