SD Scotland Supporters Summit 2018 Programme by Supporters Direct Scotland

SUPPORTERS DIRECT SCOTLAND SUPPORTERS SUMMIT 2018

#SDSSummit18

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WELCOME TO THE SDS

SUMMIT

CHAIR’S NOTES Welcome to the 2018 Supporters Summit. We’re hosted this year by The Well Society, who are now almost two years into their ownership of Motherwell FC. In celebration of this, and of the progress being made by the Foundation of Hearts and St Mirren Independent Supporters Association towards their supporter ownership goals in Gorgie and Paisley, the theme of this year’s summit is “Supporter Ownership At The Top Of Our Game”. It doesn’t seem long since the idea of supporter ownership was regularly dismissed as something that was only appropriate for smaller clubs… these three clubs are proving that notion wrong, and we hope they are joined in the top tier by even more supporter-owned clubs in the near future. The last 12 months have been significant for SD Scotland, with our incorporation in Scotland as an independent Community Benefit Society and obtaining membership of Supporters Direct Europe in late 2017, and the successful creation of the Fair Play Foundation charity earlier this summer. Local incorporation has been achieved whilst retaining close links to Supporters Direct elsewhere in the UK, and should improve our fundraising capability north of the border. Membership of Supporters Direct Europe gives us additional access to expertise and best practice beyond these shores. The establishment of the Fair Play Foundation as a stand-alone charity will allow us to build on the foundations created by our Colours Of Our Scarves project in tackling prejudice and discrimination, and seek funding for projects with broader social impact than our core work with football supporters. This week has seen the launch of the annual National Fans Survey, which we have run in partnership with the SFA and SPFL since 2012. This is now an established fixture on the Scottish football calendar, and the three themes identified in last year’s survey – Value For Money, Fan Engagement and Supporter Experience – will be used as the basis of a three-year benchmarking study. We encourage you to spread the word, so that the improvements that the survey drives reflect the wishes of as many supporters across the country as possible. Finally, we would like to transform the Scottish Supporters Network into an active agent for change in Scottish football. We have identified four areas where we’d like you to get involved in some working groups beyond today – Governance and Ownership, Equality and Diversity, The Matchday Experience, and Football Development. Use the networking opportunity that this summit presents to talk to your peers, and if you have particular interest in one of these four areas please let us know. Enjoy what I’m sure will be a fantastic day! Morag McHaffie and Alan Russell Chair and Chief Executive of SD Scotland

FANSBET With us today are Fansbet, the one-of-a-kind betting platform which shares their net profits with the fan community. The Scottish Supporters Network and Fansbet share the same values around the empowerment of fans, and we are excited about what we can achieve together. Fansbet have committed to sharing 50% of net profit from players who can choose an established group in the football supporting community to be the beneficiary for causes that matter to them the most. Whether the cause be ownership, tickets, travel or something more diverse or community-based, FansBet want to give to fan partners the opportunity to make a difference. Find out more about FansBet – as a player or as a fan partner – by speaking to one of the team here today. Fan culture and the match day experience matters to us and our partnership will help to make a difference to so many. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership together.

SPEAKERS THE WELL SOCIETY

The ‘Well Society is one of a growing number of football supporters’ groups in Scotland who believe in the merits of fan-ownership of their local clubs. Motherwell FC were the first club in the top flight of Scottish football to be owned by their supporters when The Well Society took on ownership of the club in 2016.

FOUNDATION OF HEARTS

The Foundation of Hearts were founded in 2010 with a view to supporting the transition into fan ownership for Heart of Midlothian FC by a group of individuals with a common vision. They currently have a membership of around 8,000 individuals, all of whom contribute financially to the organisation. This financial contribution is used to provide working capital for the club and for the long term transfer of shares to the Foundation.

ST MIRREN INDEPENDENT SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION SMiSA (The St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association) was founded in 2002 and in the years since have supported St. Mirren Football Club in various ways. In 2016 the Trust launched their campaign #BuyTheBuds to purchase a majority shareholding in St. Mirren Football club. Phase 1 consists of a joint bid to buy the the Club with former director Gordon Scott, which was successfully completed in summer 2016. Phase 2 will see the Trust buy out Gordon’s majority shareholding to allow St. Mirren to become a majority fan-owned football club.

WORKSHOPS #1: Getting To Grips With The Rules

This a Board Member training workshop for Supporters Trusts led by SD’s Nicola Hudson and looks at the rules that underpin their organisation, what is expected of Trusts in terms of reporting to both the FCA and Supporters Direct, the format and workings of their organisation and the necessity to update the trust rules to the new SD Models.

#3: Structured Dialogue

Fulham Supporters Trust’s Dan Crawford explains how ‘structured dialogue’ can work in practice between Supporters Trusts and their clubs, using FST’s Memorandum Of Understanding with the club as a case study.

#5: Fan Representatives

Led by Elaine Millar, this training workshop is about supporter representatives on the board of clubs and covers issues such as confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

#2: Supporter Liaison Officers (SLO)

This session focuses on the role of the SLO in building bridges between supporters and clubs. SD Scotland have been working with the Scottish FA in the development of this role and a network of SLOs for the past year.

#4: Disability Access Officers (DAO)

Delivered in partnership with the Scottish Disabled Supporters Association, this session looks at UEFA’s Article 35b, requiring clubs to appoint a DAO who is responsible for improving access for disabled people (on both matchdays and non-matchdays).

#6: Women at the Game

Women at the Game was established by the late Jacqui Foster who had worked for Supporters Direct for over a decade. It was setup to give women the chance to go to live football in a supportive all-female group. Here Maggie Coats explains the initative.

2018 ITINERARY ITEM

TIME

ROOM

Registration

10:00

Centenary Suite

Welcome & Introduction from SD Scotland

10:30

Centenary Suite

Fan Ownership in Scotland: The Well Society

11.00

Centenary Suite

Fan Ownership in Scotland: The Foundation of Hearts

11.30

Centenary Suite

Fan Ownership in Scotland: SMISA