Football Supporters Europe (FSE) headed to Sweden for the third transnational meeting of the SLO (Supporter Liaison Officer) development project Towards the Professional Development of SLOs (TPDS) alongside its partners earlier this month.
TPDS aims to help clubs and national associations hire the right people for the SLO role and help existing SLOs fulfil their potential. In parallel, working with four leading universities from across Europe, the project aims to establish pathways for individuals to learn and become experts in supporter liaison through a series of higher education courses.
FSE was joined at the two-day meeting hosted at Malmo University (14th-15th November) by representatives from Gdansk University, Kassel University, the University of Limoges, the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE), CBF (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol), and CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol).
The meeting gave time to each partner to update their project peers on progress so far. The universities shared the status of their national training pilot courses for SLOs, the EOSE provided an update on the development of the occupational standards for SLOs, and the South American partners presented their work on devising a road map to introduce the SLO concept on their continent.
Following the meeting, FSE’s SLO Development Officer, Tony Ernst, said: “We’re delighted with the progress made so far by the partners. The dedication to the project and focus on the potential outcomes have been hugely impressive.
“The universities are working hard on the design of the courses for SLOs with the guidance of Kassel University’s experts, while the EOSE has made significant steps forward with the occupational standards. We continue to have monthly meetings with the EOSE to support this key pillar of TPDS. Meanwhile, our partners from South America are making the most of their involvement in the project and we look forward to seeing their work to export the SLO role.”
The partners will meet once again in Summer 2025 for the fourth in-person meeting of the project.
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