A national conference is to be held (12-13 June 2010) to allow football fans from across the country to offer their views on the Government’s commitment to giving supporters a greater say in the running of their clubs.
The conference is being organised on the back of a growing political consensus about the potential for football fans to buy out their clubs by setting up cooperatives, similar to those that already own and run clubs like FC Barcelona and Hamburg SV. The new Coalition Government has pledged to support the creation of mutually-owned clubs in its “Programme for government”.
Hosted by Supporters Direct, which represents more than 160 supporters’ trusts in the UK, Saturday is themed A Better Vision for Football and will give football fans the chance find out more about the proposals under consideration. It will also allow fans to speak directly with politicians, club chairmen, bloggers and writers, as well as representatives of football clubs already owned by supporters’ trusts.
In addition, the keynote speaker on Saturday will be made by the award winning film director Ken Loach, responsible for the modern cult classic Looking for Eric, also responsible for a recent documentary about the response of football fans to their sense of alienation from the game.