Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is excited to announce the beginning of a new Erasmus+ project that will focus on increasing the numbers of young people involved in democratic structures within supporters’ organisations and football clubs.
“Future of Football” will run until Autumn of 2025, and involves supporter organisations and partners from 5 EU countries, England & Wales, and Africa, through the continental fans organisation Sandlanders.
The core project group will work with younger supporters from England & Wales, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden to create a series of toolkits and training materials that will then be delivered at selected clubs within each country.
The activity will be supported by research and insight gathered by the Netherlands’ only independent sports research entity, Mulier Institute, which will also deliver tailored analysis for each partner country. A series of national and European youth forums will reinforce the research, learnings, and impact.
FSE Executive Director Ronan Evain said: “At a time when supporters’ voices need to be included more than ever by football’s key stakeholders, it is vital to ensure the priorities of the next generation of active supporters are a part of the conversation too.
“Working with the project partners and our FSE membership, this project will pave the way to establish the foundations for lasting structures of influence for younger supporters at national and European level.”
Future of Football Partners:
- FSA, England & Wales;
- FSE and Unsere Kurve, Germany
- Norsk Supportersallianse, Norway
- FASFE, Spain
- SFSU, Sweden
- Sandlanders, Africa
- Mulier Institute, Netherlands
As part of the project, FSE is now looking to recruit four experts in youth participation with funding available to support their involvement (time and travel) in the activities. These experts will contribute their knowledge in and around youth participation, supporting the development of the toolkits and activities. For further information, email: info@fanseurope.org. Expressions of interest will be considered until Friday, September 29th, 2023.
With the core project coordinating group established and research underway, the first in-person project partners meeting is planned for December 2023. As the project progresses, FSE will publish the project’s learning materials and resources to amplify the impact of its outcomes.
In addition, if any FSE members or stakeholders within the game would like to be kept informed of progress and involved in activities where possible, reach out to: info@fanseurope.org.