Fans across Europe demand change to football’s ‘unsustainable’ model in strong joint statement

The statement also raises ‘significant concerns’ about broadcasters’ plans to imitate stadium atmospheres by offering TV viewers the chance to play pre-recorded audio of supporters

Supporters are concerned about football after the pandemic (EPA)

Twenty-seven major supporters’ groups across Europe have come together to demand a seat at the table in discussions to drastically reshape football’s “unsustainable” future and dismantle the game’s long-standing model.

In a powerful statement, led by Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and including among its signatories the leading fans’ representative body in England and Wales, the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), supporters call for inclusion “in discussions that will determine the immediate and long-term future of the game”.

“The coronavirus crisis has yet again shown that the current model of football is flawed, unfair, and unsustainable,” the statement reads. “Football needs to change dramatically. And it needs to change for the better. Any reform process must include fan representatives, on local, national, and European level. Fans must be engaged and involved in decisions that relate to the wider future of the game, including the necessary overhaul of governance structures and financial regulations.”

The Premier League returns to action this week behind closed doors, with no timeline yet proposed for when fans may be allowed to return to stadiums, or how that may be achieved. In the statement, supporters demand the safe return of spectators across Europe following the coronavirus pandemic, “accompanied by a meaningful consultation with fans’ representatives at every level of the game on health safety protocols”.

The statement also raises “significant concerns” about broadcasters’ plans to imitate stadium atmospheres by offering TV viewers the chance to play pre-recorded audio of supporters as they watch games played behind closed doors. “Augmented reality technology, prerecorded chants, and other forms of artificial support represent a rebuke to matchgoing fans,” it says.

It concludes: “There can be no ‘return to normal’. Lasting change is needed to make the game sustainable from top to bottom, and fans stand ready to play a part in shaping that change.”