QPR 1st recently sent representatives to the Premier League Supporters’ Trusts meeting organised by Supporters Direct. These meetings are organised to deal with the specific issues affecting Premiership fans. It was attended by representatives of Supporters Direct, The Football Supporters Federation as well as Supporters Trusts representing Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Fulham and a group of Chelsea supporters looking to set one up. Here are some of the main points to come out of the meeting:
- Issues were raised regarding SLO’s (Supporter Liason Officers) – under UEFA directives, all clubs are supposed to employ a member of staff who acts as a link between the club and supporters’ groups. We raised the concern that no such official has made themselves available to us. We have emailed the club informally and requested a meeting to discuss this and other matters, which we intend to follow up with a more formal written request. We look forward to the club’s response to this and appreciate the offer by Supporters Direct to intervene on our behalf should it be considered it helpful. We believe this is an important step to re-establishing regular contact and dialogue with the club – to ensure a degree of direct partnership with the board in the future. At the time of writing, there has been no response.
- The Premier League part of the wider Supporters Direct network are working towards providing a stronger, united voice regarding common goals. This is now in progress, particularly regarding new ideas on fairer away ticketing prices for all clubs as well as linking up with FSF concerns about unfair and obtrusive stewarding.
- As part of these wider goals, we are encouraging our members to keep in contact with the work of Supporters Direct – you can sign up to their newsletter here.