The Football Supporters Association has been very proactive and vocal in the last few days both as an organisation and also via the supporters groups who are members, but they say although the first battle has been won, it should be a catalyst for change, not just appeasement and a return to just what has led us to this position in the first place.

The Football Supporters Association has called for change and not just appeasement in it's latest statement as shown below:

Appeasement of football’s richest clubs doesn’t work. The vultures circle, they’re always after more and they only get stronger when you feed their greed.

This time the cabal of billionaire owners overplayed their hand and their rapacious appetite for more united an unprecedented array of opponents. Fans across the entire game, players, managers, pundits, clubs, leagues, football associations across the continent, politicians, Prime Ministers and governments. Even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared their concerns.

English club involvement in the Super League has collapsed and the concept itself teeters on the edge. At a continental level the FSA will continue to campaign with our friends at Football Supporters Europe to kill the competition for good. Agnelli’s ‘blood pact’ has no place in football.

The past 72 hours of white hot action and anger has killed domestic involvement in the Super League but that doesn’t mean fans can take their foot off the accelerator — a return to the status quo is unacceptable and will only allow these unscrupulous owners to regroup.

On Monday the Government announced the launch of its fan-led review and it is vital that all efforts are poured into that, with supporters front and centre, in order to rebalance the power structure of the domestic game.

There have been numerous reviews in the past with recommendations that football ignored or diluted. That cannot happen again. Reports suggested that the Prime Minister was considering a ‘legislative bomb’ to stop the involvement of domestic sides in the Super League.

We will work with all parties when it comes to securing the future of football and the fan-led review must adopt measures which stop this situation ever developing again.

Additionally it should consider a whole host of options such as removing barriers to partial or full supporter ownership, automatic supporter positions on boards, and implementation of something akin to Germany’s 50+1 rule which gives fans an enormous voice in that country.

Football is arguably the biggest expression of community and cultural identity on these shores and it needs to be treated with that respect. Tearing at the fabric of our football institutions damages not only football, but society more widely.

At the top clubs are allowed to treat their fans with contempt when it comes to ticket prices, kick-off times, support for the women’s game, wealth distribution and funding of grassroots. Supporter engagement has to be embedded into the decision making and power structure of all clubs.

Lower down the pyramid clubs disappear from existence thanks to a lack of transparency in ownership and financial oversight — leaving a trail of broken-hearted fans and indebted local businesses in their wake. These clubs need protection, financial controls and transparency of ownership.

Find out more about the Football Supporters Association and how you can join for free and perhaps even get involved via the link below.

https://thefsa.org.uk/

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 09:38 - Apr 22 Does anyone really believe this has gone away for good? It has been a toe in the water exercise to gauge reaction hence the ready withdrawal of our “big six”. Now the opposition barriers are clearly defined, it doesn’t matter if a couple more seasons pass before something similar this way comes. As far as our government is concerned they have show an interest as presenting indifference to this inflammatory issue is a potential vote loser. We can't get rid of money-grabbing owners and football has become like horseracing - all the thoroughbreds are in just a few stables and any change will only be effected by a universal boycott which grabs media attention, as there are so many in that particular circus who depend on football for their living and lifestyle and can't risk a future without fans.

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underweststand added 10:24 - Apr 22 I was very impressed by the show of solidarity shown at all levels of the game against the ESL announcement. Clearly the grass roots support for Football in this country go much deeper than anyone might have imagined and that is admirable. As halftimeorange commented....(above) ..the organisers of this fiasco may try to come up with a Plan B, but the ridiculous statement from the Spanish chairman that it would " save the game " is totally ridiculous as it's obvious that the likes of Barcelona, Real, and Milan / Juventus (and even Tottenham ) are way over their heads in debt, in part due to salary levels and empty stadiums that they may (theoretically) be in bankruptcy already. The outcome of this for the "English rebel clubs" may yet be more devastating than anyone can imagine, but for my part they can take the ESL and stick in the same orifice as the EU......and if they don't like that, they may quickly learn to live with the alternative.

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