Topic: LFC Announce Supporters Board

[Samie]

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-launches-supporters-board

Liverpool FC has launched a new Supporters Board to deliver meaningful fan representation on strategic issues at main board and executive levels.

The development, which comes after extensive consultation with representatives from Spirit of Shankly in recent months, was confirmed today with nearly 99 per cent voting in favour of the new engagement model by members of SoS, the club’s recognised Supporters Trust.

The board has been developed as part of the club’s commitment to strengthen dialogue with supporters and increase the involvement of fans in decision-making processes in order to ensure engagement is more robust and effective. As such, the new process will be put in place to enable deeper consultation with supporters on fan-facing strategic decisions.

The Supporters Board will be made up of a group of supporters that represent the club’s diverse fanbase. The Supporters Trust will be responsible for running the Supporters Board and will be liaising with its affiliate groups and the wider supporter base in order to ensure such representation is achieved. The Supporters Board will hold regular meetings with the club and the chair will be invited to attend LFC’s main board meetings when fan-facing strategic matters arise.

The make-up of the Supporters Board will consist of 10 Spirit of Shankly committee members, plus six other representatives drawn from other fan organisations, including Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, Kop Outs, Spion Kop 1906, Official Liverpool Supporters Clubs, Liverpool Women’s Supporters Committee, and faith and ethnic groups. The chair and vice-chair will be elected from the members of the Supporters Board by the members of the Supporters Board.

The existing fan forums structure will remain in place but will be reshaped into three main working groups to cover ticketing, matchday experience, and equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I). This will ensure operational issues and ‘day to day’ matters continue to be discussed by club officials and supporters in order to facilitate tactical collaborative working. When appropriate, these matters will also be represented at Supporters Board level.

The new engagement process will be enshrined in the club’s Articles of Association and a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding between the club and the Official Liverpool Supporters Trust will be entered into, thereby ensuring supporters input on fan issues via structured dialogue.

Billy Hogan, chief executive of Liverpool FC, said: “The idea for the Supporters Board came from an understanding and recognition that there was a lack of engagement with supporters on some important fan-facing issues and that was something we wanted to address. We had the ability to engage directly with a number of our different supporter groups, and we started with our official Supporters Trust, Spirit of Shankly.

“There has been a tremendous amount of engagement with our fans and supporters across the last several years, particularly the work that went into Kiev and Madrid, a lot of engagement around the Club World Cup, and issues such as equality, diversity and inclusion, ticketing issues and our sanctions process. There is a lot of engagement, but it was clear that we needed to address our levels of dialogue and put a process in place that was more formal.

“This has been a healthy process with a lot of engagement, and ultimately we’re really proud of where we’ve ended up. We think the Supporters Board concept is a really good one and it allows us to engage in a really meaningful way. I do just want to say a huge thank you to all the different groups that we’ve engaged with to get to this point.”

Joe Blott, chair of Spirit of Shankly, said: “We’ve been working really hard as a union to work alongside the club, to hold the club to account but at the same time to work in harmony to try to get the best for supporters. The Supporters Board will be led by democracy, with an invitation to affiliate groups, not individuals, so when you work on the Supporters Board, you’re operating at a level of speaking on behalf of supporters, not just yourself.

“The key differences now the Supporters Board is in action will firstly be strategy, because we as a fan organisation can now take issues to the club, the opportunity to be strategic. Here we also have a broader aspect of fan representation, anybody can have a voice and be part of one of these affiliate groups. The club also wants to retain elements of the separate working groups, such as the ticketing working group, equal opportunities, and it’s important that they can pick up day-to-day issues that will feed into and inform the Supporters Board strategy, which then informs the engagement with the club.

“Another feature of the agreement is that it will be formally written into the club’s Articles of Association, which future-proofs the relationship between supporters as it would form part of any transfer of undertaking to new owners.

“We’ve come such a long way from the challenges of the past, and it was critically important to make sure the supporter voice is heard. We know that fan representation is critically important to maintaining football. I think what we have now is a real synergy and organisational approach that ensures stronger representation and greater engagement.”

In the coming weeks, the make-up of the board will be finalised and the necessary administrative steps taken in order to ensure the Supporters Board is operational at the earliest possible opportunity.

[newterp]

Where's the water board money, John?? Oh...you said supporters board.


I, for one, welcome our new Supporters Board.

[Graham Smith]

The Fan Led Review has followed much of what we negotiated for this - it was even termed the "Liverpool Model".

[Samie]

The Fan Led Review has followed much of what we negotiated for this - it was even termed the "Liverpool Model".

Graham, do you know how long it will be before the board is actively in club meetings? Are we talking a month? two?

[Graham Smith]

Graham, do you know how long it will be before the board is actively in club meetings? Are we talking a month? two?

Early in the New Year I would suspect.

[FlashGordon]

Great start.

[Bobinhood]

18 games in a row with 2 goals scored, held to a single goal one time and people are bored already? Makes no sense at all.

oh, wait....

[stoz]

Is this going to be much different to the previous committees and things which they created, which quietly disappeared?

[Kenny's Jacket]

the ticket office will still be a bunch of useless fucks

[TepidT2O]

This is brilliant…

If only I could understand why they consulted no one on the super league..

FSG do some brilliant stuff, why can’t they be consistent?

[ianburns252]

the ticket office will still be a bunch of useless fucks

Pretty sure there is a famous quote about the only certainty in life being death, taxes, and the Anfield ticket office being full of a bunch of useless twats

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

I'm surprised there hasn't been more comment on this.
Looks good to me and the it looks to be far more embedded in the constitution than the other committees that have existed in the past.
Let's just hope that both parties work well together and it actually delivers.

Graham - how will you judge how well this is working (or otherwise)?

[BarryCrocker]

It's been done before.

[redgriffin73]

Sounds promising.

[gazzalfc]

This is going to be as close to 'Fan ownership' we are ever going to get.

It's good that SoS have been officially recognised as our collective representation of all the other supporters groups (even the official supporters group) and I know they will represent our needs. I know the womens supporters club along with our disabled fans association will be represented by SoS going forward which is great from an equality and equal representation standpoint.

Time will tell if this is just lip service that the club have had to give to placate the fans following the Super league debacle. I would love to say that this will be a turning point to how the club deals with the fans (customers). But it's been said plenty of times before. Fan committees, meetings with the board twice a year etc. None of that has ever led to anything meaningful. Lets see if this is something we can be proud of

Going to be interesting to see what will be classed as 'fan-facing strategic matters'

[Jookie]

This is really good news and a good 1st step to getting the fans voices heard.

This should be win-win for all parties involved. The fans will get more of a voice. The club will hopefully be able to use this as a sounding board before they jump into any unpopular decision without consultation. To clarify what I say an unpopular decision it refers to ticket price hikes, furlough of staff, ESL and the missteps FSG has made over their ownership that have been pushed back on by the majority of fans when announced without fan consultation. For me it doesn't necessarily mean questioning the board on transfer spend or why we didn't buy a centre back in January.

[Eeyore]

I would just like to congratulate Graham and the rest of SOS on a truly monumental achievement. I know how hard and how long you guys have worked for this. Well done mate.

This is a fantastic achievement not just for LFC but for the whole of Football.

[Eeyore]

This is brilliant…

If only I could understand why they consulted no one on the super league..

FSG do some brilliant stuff, why can’t they be consistent?

Probably because when you are attempting a power grab. The last thing you want to do is to tell the people you are grabbing the power from about it. Much better to present a fait accompli as Henry attempted. If he is to be believed he didn't even consult with Billy Hogan their CEO.

[El Lobo]

Excellent stuff, and another great step by FSG

[newterp]

Excellent stuff, and another great step by FSG

and Craig.

[RainbowFlick]

well in all involved. would be up for getting involved with this in subsequent rounds (assuming the committee has a turnover!)

[Jon2lfc]

It's been done before.

I hope no one from Nike sees that photo otherwise you can guarantee it'll be a Change kit in a few seasons time with a blurb about a nod to our Antipodean roots..

[Graham Smith]

I'm surprised there hasn't been more comment on this.
Looks good to me and the it looks to be far more embedded in the constitution than the other committees that have existed in the past.
Let's just hope that both parties work well together and it actually delivers.

Graham - how will you judge how well this is working (or otherwise)?

It will be pretty simple -

1. With being 'in the room' before decisions are made we can avoid mess-ups made previously cementing harmony between the Club and supporters;
2. Supporters seeing a real change in their experiences;
3. Continue education of those still not 'getting' the Liverpool way

Supporters through the Board will get the chance to mould what are startegic matters and also for the first time ever a supporters' trust will have legally enforceable rights to stop existential threats to the Club - those rights written into the Club's articles of association.

Idea will be to have each affiliate group consult in their bases and to produce a one, three and five year strategic plan to discuss with the Club before the end of the season.

There will be very regular meetings between the Exec of the Supporters Board (and relevant representatives of affiliates depending on the immediate issues) and all of the SB with the local Exec as a group regularly too.

The SB Exec will also attend the main Board meetings at least once a year and will get the chance to present and hear plans for the future including current and future budget information (properly protected).

[The-Originals]

well done Spirit of Shankly

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

It will be pretty simple -

1. With being 'in the room' before decisions are made we can avoid mess-ups made previously cementing harmony between the Club and supporters;
2. Supporters seeing a real change in their experiences;
3. Continue education of those still not 'getting' the Liverpool way

Supporters through the Board will get the chance to mould what are startegic matters and also for the first time ever a supporters' trust will have legally enforceable rights to stop existential threats to the Club - those rights written into the Club's articles of association.

Idea will be to have each affiliate group consult in their bases and to produce a one, three and five year strategic plan to discuss with the Club before the end of the season.

There will be very regular meetings between the Exec of the Supporters Board (and relevant representatives of affiliates depending on the immediate issues) and all of the SB with the local Exec as a group regularly too.

The SB Exec will also attend the main Board meetings at least once a year and will get the chance to present and hear plans for the future including current and future budget information (properly protected).

Thanks for the response Graham, it all sounds positive but the overarching thing for me is the bit I've bolded.
This is a tough question and I acknowledge it's difficult if people lie through their teeth or just change their minds, but do you think that these legally enforceable rights could help prevent a leveraged buyout when FSG come to sell?

[Max_powers]

I nominate Al for the board.

[Samie]

No finer gentleman than Al representing RAWK and the fans...He'd have John Henry selling the club within an hour. 

[El Lobo]

I nominate Al for the board.

Water?

[Graham Smith]

Thanks for the response Graham, it all sounds positive but the overarching thing for me is the bit I've bolded.
This is a tough question and I acknowledge it's difficult if people lie through their teeth or just change their minds, but do you think that these legally enforceable rights could help prevent a leveraged buyout when FSG come to sell?

Not specifically but any sale would be subject at the time to the rights we have negotiated, although a new owner can change those rules if they want but that would create its own issues about trust, motives and how supporters might react.

[Graham Smith]

Membership of the Supporters Board will be by being an elected representative of either the SOS Management Committee or elected by one of the six affiliates - people will be representing interests and not themselves.

[Samie]

Another thing I'm also happy about Graham is the inclusion of the Liverpool Women's Supporters group.  I feel that they are often sidelined as being another team and not part of Liverpool Football Club.

[Ghost Town]

Membership of the Supporters Board will be by being an elected representative of either the SOS Management Committee or elected by one of the six affiliates - people will be representing interests and not themselves.

Who are the six affiliates, and will there be scope for the number and/or nature of these to change if it is found there are fans not being represented by the current ones?

[JasonF]

Who are the six affiliates, and will there be scope for the number and/or nature of these to change if it is found there are fans not being represented by the current ones?

The videos on this link are worth a watch: https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-launches-supporters-board

Here's the part you asked for written down though:

"The make-up of the Supporters Board will consist of 10 Spirit of Shankly committee members, plus six other representatives drawn from other fan organisations, including Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, Kop Outs, Spion Kop 1906, Official Liverpool Supporters Clubs, Liverpool Women’s Supporters Committee, and faith and ethnic groups. The chair and vice-chair will be elected from the members of the Supporters Board by the members of the Supporters Board."

[Graham Smith]

Who are the six affiliates, and will there be scope for the number and/or nature of these to change if it is found there are fans not being represented by the current ones?

LDSA, Kop Outs, there will be a Faith and Culture group in development, Kop Outs, OLSCs and LFCWSC

The way it all works can be constantly reviewed.

[gkmacca]

It's good that SoS have been officially recognised as our collective representation of all the other supporters groups

Why? How was this 'collective representation' arrived at? Who was consulted? Who voted on it?

[Kenny's Jacket]

Why? How was this 'collective representation' arrived at? Who was consulted? Who voted on it?

Exactly

[Graham Smith]

Why? How was this 'collective representation' arrived at? Who was consulted? Who voted on it?

SOS has been the recognised Supporters' Trust for LFC for years and has had an open membership for 13 years - recognised by the FSA and now legally acknowledged by LFC in contractual terms.

The other affiliates have to all create a democratic mandate for their representatives in such a way that any Liverpool fan from anywhere in the world now has a structure to represent their interests, one or more of the groups should cover all - obviously if you are a sole supporter you can still ask SOS or an affiliate to raise an issue but if you want to be part of decision making then you have to get on board - democracy.

[CraigDS]

It'd definitely a really good thing to have and good to see it come to fruition.

I would maybe question why the board is made up of 10 SOS members and only 6 from elsewhere - likely lead to a very disproportionate vote when it selects it's own Chair and Vice-Chair, as well as voting on matters, but regardless having some decent representation at the club should only help things.

[Smudge]

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-leads-way-fan-engagement-legally-enshrined-supporters-board

New Supporters Board established. Good or Bad?

10 out of 16 members are part of SoS Committee.

10 from 16 doesn't sound too diverse to me. SoS looking after their own interests.....??

[Billy Elliot]

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-leads-way-fan-engagement-legally-enshrined-supporters-board

New Supporters Board established. Good or Bad?

10 out of 16 members are part of SoS Committee.

10 from 16 doesn't sound too diverse to me. SoS looking after their own interests.....??

SOS are the established trust. Unless you can be bothered to start your own trust then it'll stay that way. I'd say most of us have faith in SOS to represent us, besides - nobody else can be bothered.

As for whether the supporters board is a good idea - yes definitely. German clubs with their 50+1 rule have looked at the Liverpool model and are quite jealous.

FSG can no longer make ridiculous "fan facing" decisions without a SOS veto. And although I'm still unsure what  exactly qualifies as "fan facing" - it sounds great. And as a SOS member - I get a say.