Earlier today, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) sent a letter to MEP’s in support of Tomasz Frankowski’s ‘Report on the EU sports policy – assessment and possible ways forward‘. We believe this report lays the foundations for a more sustainable sporting ecosystem—one based on sporting merit, solidarity, and subsidiarity. The letter follows below.
Dear Members of the European Parliament,
We are writing to you on behalf of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), the democratic and representative voice of football fans in the UEFA region, with members in over 50 European nations.
The past six months in the world of football have been encouraging and dispiriting in equal measure.
On the one hand, we have witnessed the overwhelming effectiveness of collective action and solidarity, which, it turns out, are more than a match for the wealth of a few. The world of football and wider society showed unity and passion in defending fundamental tenets of the game such as sporting merit.
On the other, the unsustainable nature of modern football—its lack of oversight and widespread inequality—has been laid bare for all to see. Unlike the so-called super league, these problems will not disappear overnight.
This crisis calls for a political response. Our clubs, our communities and the whole social-cultural ecosystem that makes European football so unique are too often threatened by crude economic interests. They need protection. We need protection.
All this is not to say that supporters’ organisations oppose attempts to overhaul European football—far from it. We have repeatedly called for meaningful reform to make the game more sustainable from top to bottom and for supporters and other stakeholders to be involved in discussions to this end. We want the game to be more pan-European, more diverse, and more open, not dominated by a handful of clubs or countries.
We believe the “Report on the EU sports policy – assessment and possible ways forward” provides the necessary political response to the continuous crisis imposed by the promoters of the so-called super league. By recognising the role played by professional sport in our communities and European society as a whole, as well as the contribution of supporters’ organisations to the European model of sport, the report produced by Tomasz Frankowski lays the ground for a more sustainable sporting ecosystem based on sporting merit, solidarity, and subsidiarity.
Its univocal rejection of the so-called super league or any other form of breakaway competition is fully in line with the needs and expectations of European football supporters. We therefore invite you to support the resolution during tomorrow’s vote.
We are available to further present our position and discuss any of the issues raised.
Thank you in advance.
Kind regards,
Football Supporters Europe