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The Football Supporters' Association | |
Founded | 2018 |
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Location |
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Members | 500,000+ |
Key people | Kevin Miles, Chief executive Malcolm Clarke, Chair Tom Greatrex, Vice-chair |
Affiliations | FSE, The FA |
Website | www.thefsa.org.uk/ |
The Football Supporters' Association (The FSA) is the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. They are the leading advocates for supporter ownership, better fan engagement, cheaper ticket prices, the choice to stand at the match (safe standing), protecting fan rights, good governance, diversity, and all types of supporter empowerment across both the men's and women's game.
The FSA's chair is Malcolm Clarke, and its vice-chair is Tom Greatrex, both of whom sit as supporters' representatives on The FA Council. [1]
The organisation was formed after the merger of two national football supporters' organisations, the Football Supporters' Federation and Supporters Direct, was agreed to on 22 November 2018. [2] The name of the new organisation was announced on 6 June 2019. [3]
The FSA represents more than 500,000 members made up of individual fans and more than 300 affiliated and associated supporters' organisations from every club in the professional game and many more throughout the whole footballing pyramid. [4] Membership of the FSA is free to all fans, providing they promote the cause of diversity, oppose discrimination, reject violence and promote a positive culture of fair play and goodwill between all football supporters. [5]
The FSA regularly meets with the football authorities and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the concerns of football supporters.
They are the structured dialogue partners of the Premier League, EFL and the National League, facilitating dialogue between those organisations and supporters. They also partner with football's anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out on the Fans for Diversity campaign, [6] [7] and with The FA, the Football Association of Wales and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on fans' embassies for England and Wales matches overseas.
They have regular dialogue with other groups, including the Professional Footballers' Association, the Independent Football Ombudsman and Police Match Commanders, among others, and are founder-members of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), working with other national and trans-national organisations as dialogue partners with UEFA. The FSA's chief executive, Kevin Miles, is an elected committee member of FSE.
The FSA is also secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters. [8]
The FSA promotes the value of supporter and community engagement and helps supporters' trusts to secure influence and become a constructive voice in how their club is run. There are around 50 clubs owned by their supporters including the first ever supporter-owned football club in the United Kingdom, AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City, and Newport County, [9] as well as clubs part-owned in partnership with supporters' trusts such as Swansea City.
The Stand Up For Choice campaign, previously known as the Safe Standing campaign, has received widespread political backing. At the 2019 UK general election all three major English political parties included a commitment to move towards safe standing in their manifestos. [10] Work on pilots of standing areas in the top flight which were to be explored after the publication of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Rapid Evidence Assessment into the all-seater policy [11] in 2019 were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and the subsequent restrictions on supporters attending matches.
In 2020, partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the game but also as a result of long-standing finance and governance issues, the FSA launched the Sustain the Game! campaign. It calls for urgent action from the authorities to protect clubs throughout the country, for greater transparency and independent financial controls, and for the Government to deliver on its manifesto commitment of a 'fan-led review of football governance'. [12] The campaign received cross-party political support, as well as backing from hundreds of supporter organisations and football industry figures such as Jamie Carragher and Henry Winter. [13] The campaign launch came two months ahead of the divisive and unpopular 'Project Big Picture' proposals, [14] which would have seen sweeping changes to the organisation of English football and which were ultimately unanimously rejected. [15]
At its 2020 AGM the organisation formalised the creation of a network to represent supporters in the women's game, [16] on the back of work over the preceding 18 months which saw the creation of more than 25 supporter groups throughout the top four divisions of women's football. [17]
In 2022, local football supporters in Bury, Greater Manchester were urged to vote in a poll, facilitated by the FSA, regarding a potential merger of the supporters groups of Bury F.C. and Bury A.F.C. The FSA said there was no "viable and sustainable alternative to the merger", which, if approved, could potentially see the eventual return of professional football to the town's Gigg Lane stadium following Bury F.C.'s expulsion from the EFL in August 2019. [18] [19]
The Football Supporters’ Association Player of the Year is an annual award, presented at the FSA Awards ceremony in association with 'BeGambleAware', given to the player who is adjudged to have had the best year in all of the divisions of Welsh and English football. The award has been presented since 2013, when the inaugural winner was Liverpool striker Luis Suárez.
The most recent winners of the award are Frida Maanum of Arsenal and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. Winners are selected by public vote following a nominations process. [20]
The table indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), [21] [22] [23] the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA), [24] the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), [25] the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), [26] and the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY). [22] [23] [27]
Year | Female Player | Club | Also won | Notes | |
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2016 | Sari van Veenendaal | Arsenal | [28] | ||
2017 | Jill Scott | Manchester City | [28] | ||
2018 | Beth Mead | Arsenal | [29] | ||
2019 | Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal | PFA | [30] | |
2020 | Vivianne Miedema (2) | Arsenal | FWA, LFA | [31] | |
2021 | Vivianne Miedema (3) | Arsenal | BBC, PFA | [31] | |
2022 | Beth Mead (2) | Arsenal | BBC | [32] | |
2023 | Frida Maanum | Arsenal | PFA | [33] |
Year | Male Player | Club | Also won | Notes | |
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2013 | Luis Suárez † | Liverpool | FWA, PPY | Inaugural winner of the award [34] | |
2014 | Sergio Agüero † | Manchester City | [35] | ||
2015 | Alexis Sánchez † | Arsenal | FPY | [36] | |
2016 | Philippe Coutinho † | Liverpool | [37] | ||
2017 | Harry Kane † | Tottenham Hotspur | [38] | ||
2018 | Mohamed Salah † | Liverpool | FWA, PPY, FPY, PPS, FSF | [39] | |
2019 | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | PPY, PPS | [40] | |
2020 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | [41] | ||
2021 | Mohamed Salah (2) | Liverpool | FPY, FSF | [42] | |
2022 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | PPS | [43] | |
2023 | Mohamed Salah (3) | Liverpool | [44] |
† | Indicates the award was previous the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) Player of the Year Award. |
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Awards are issued in a variety of other categories, including pundits, podcasters, writers and other football media. [45]
The Football Writers' Association (FWA) is an association of football journalists and correspondents writing for English newspapers and agencies. It presents the Footballer of the Year Award, the oldest and most distinguished award given in the domestic game. In 2018, recognising the growth of the woman's game, it announced a Woman's Footballer of the Year Award.
The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The current holder is Erling Haaland of Manchester City, who won the award for the first time on 29 August 2023.
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. As of 2021, players must have been aged 21 or under as of 1 July immediately preceding the start of the season; in the past the age limit has been 23, which led to criticism in the media over whether a player who was 24 years old at the end of the season could really be considered "young" in footballing terms. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The first winner of the award was Ipswich Town defender Kevin Beattie. The current holder is Arsenal player Bukayo Saka, who won the award on 29 August 2023.
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, with the inaugural winner being Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2022–23 is Erling Haaland of Manchester City. Nine players have won the award on more than one occasion, with Thierry Henry having won the award on the most occasions, with three wins in four seasons.
The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) was an organisation representing football fans in England and Wales. It campaigned across a range of issues and supports fan representation on clubs' boards, lower ticket prices, and the introduction of safe standing areas at grounds in the top two tiers of English football. The organisation was free to join and acted as a singular voice for football fans.
The Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Player of the Year award is given to footballers in the top four flights of English football, the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two.
Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, which he captains, and the Brazil national team.
Sadio Mané is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Senegal national team. Known for his pressing, dribbling and speed, Mané is often considered one of the greatest African players of all time.
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly, known as Mohamed Salah or Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest African players of all time, he is known for his clinical finishing, dribbling and speed.
Virgil van Dijk is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, he is known for his strength, leadership, speed and aerial ability.
The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in English women's football. The award has been presented since the 2012–13 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The current holder is Rachel Daly who won the award on 29 August 2023. The first winner of the award was Arsenal midfielder Kim Little in 2013.
Bethany Jane Mead is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Women's Super League (WSL) club Arsenal and the England national team. A creative and prolific forward, she has all-time most assists and all-time second-most goal contributions in the WSL. Joint with Vivianne Miedema, she is the first player to reach a combined total of 100 goals and assists in the WSL. At UEFA Women's Euro 2022, she became the Golden Boot winner, Player of the Tournament, and top assist provider, leading England to win a major tournament for the first time. Later that year, she was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first women's footballer to win the prestigious award; and finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and UEFA Player of the Year.
Konstantinos Tsimikas is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the Greece national team.
Frida Leonhardsen Maanum is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or defender for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Norway national team.
The Anfield Wrap is a collective of podcasts, radio shows, videocasts, live shows, magazine and website articles predominantly about Liverpool F.C. as well as the culture and music in the city of Liverpool.
Rory Smith is a journalist, broadcaster and author. He is the chief soccer correspondent of The New York Times, having taken up the role in 2016. Smith is a former journalist of The Times, The Independent, and The Daily Telegraph,
Harvey Daniel James Elliott is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Premier League club Liverpool.
The Liverpool Player of the Season Award, is one of a set of official end of season awards given to the best performing player over the course of the Premier League Season as voted for by the fans. The inaugural award was handed out in 2001, with just the 'Player of the Season' Award. This title was initially awarded by fans voting on Liverpool's official club website, however the number of awards expanded following the introduction of an awards dinner, the inaugural event held in 2014, and has been held every season since. The number of awards expanded to include 'Players' Player of the Season', Goal of the season and Women's Player of the season, as well as a number of other awards for academy players, technical staff and fans other outstanding services to the club.
The 2020–21 season was Liverpool Football Club's 129th season in existence and their 59th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. In addition to the domestic league, Liverpool participated in this season's editions of the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the FA Community Shield and the UEFA Champions League. The season covered the period from August 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The 2021–22 season was Arsenal Women's Football Club's 36th season of competitive football. The club participated in the Women's Super League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League.