Supporters Direct

Supporters Direct
Formation January 2000
Location
  • London
Region served
United Kingdom
Interim Chief Executive
 Hilary Clifford
Website www.supporters-direct.coop

Supporters Direct are an umbrella organisation set up originally by the British government (with cross-party support) to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic representation within football clubs and within football's governing structures. Its first managing director was Brian Lomax, founder of the first supporters' trust at Northampton Town F.C.. Supporters Direct also works in other sports, most notably rugby league, as well as ice hockey. It is also funded by UEFA to work in football across Europe.

Amongst other things, Supporters Direct promotes the value of supporter and community engagement and helps supporters' trusts to secure influence and become a constructive voice in how their club is run. There are now over 180 supporters' trusts in the UK; clubs owned in partnership with supporters' trusts such as Swansea City A.F.C. and over 30 clubs owned by their supporters including Enfield Town FC, the first ever supporter owned football club in the United Kingdom, AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City F.C., AFC Telford and Wrexham F.C.[1][2]

Existing as a Community Benefit Society,[3] Supporters Direct is owned by its members and funded by a combination of the Fans Fund of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, the Co-operative Enterprise Hub, UEFA. the Scottish Government, and member trust subscriptions. Its work in rugby league is not formally funded by the Rugby Football League anymore, instead some work is carried out using funds from the Co-operative Enterprise Hub.

Competitions

Supporters Direct Cup

The Supporters Direct Cup is an annual, pre-season friendly competition established by Supporters Direct via its trust mailing list, from where subscriptions were sought to buy and engrave the trophy. The cup is competed for between supporter-owned clubs and was first won by AFC Wimbledon, who beat Enfield Town, 3–2, on 12 August 2002 at Cheshunt FC. Other winners have been AFC Telford United, Brentford, Enfield Town and FC United of Manchester. AFC Wimbledon have featured six times in the match and FC United made their fifth appearance in 2011.

The competition is an invitational event has recently featured as part of a weekend of Supporters Direct events. It also features a second invitational match for the Supporters Direct Shield.[4] The 2012 Supporters Direct Cup was most recently held on 16 July between Enfield Town F.C. and Wrexham A.F.C. with Enfield 3–1 victors.

In 2013, the Supporters Direct Cup featured a fixture between Scottish sides for the first time, with Dunfermline Athletic going head to head against Heart of Midlothian at East End Park on 13 July. Both sides at the time were in administration however, Dunfermline Athletic have since exited administration and are owned by fans group, Pars United. Hearts won the match 2–1.

The cup itself was paid for by subscriptions from supporters' trusts and individual fans, and is inscribed with Jock Stein’s maxim, "Football without fans is nothing." In the spirit of the fixture, gate receipts from the match are split between competing clubs.

Finals

Date Winner Scorers Runner-up Scorers Score Venue Attendance
12 August 2002 AFC Wimbledon Sheerin, Cooper, SidwellEnfield TownAlleyne, St Hilaire3–2Cheshunt Stadium521
2003 Not Held
20 July 2004 Brentford Burton, PetersAFC Wimbledon–2–0Griffin Park2,562
23 July 2005 AFC Wimbledon CraceFC United–1–0Kingsmeadow3,301
22 July 2006 FC United Brown, TorpeyAFC WimbledonBarnes2–1Gigg Lane2,136
4 August 2007 Enfield TownEdmundsCambridge CityMidgley1–1Goldsdown Road244
19 July 2008 BrentfordConnell, ElderAFC Wimbledon Main2–1Kingsmeadow1,361
25 July 2009 AFC WimbledonJudge, RapsonFC United –2–0Kingsmeadow1,772
24 July 2010 AFC Telford Brown, MeechanFC United –2–0New Bucks Head803
16 July 2011 ChesterOrmrod, BrownFC United Neville2–1Deva Stadium1,927
8 July 2012 Enfield TownKirby, Hope (2)Wrexham Salathiel3–1Queen Elizabeth Stadium306
27 July 2013 Enfield TownWallace, Hope (2), Campbell (2), Osei, O'Brien, GreenYB SK Beveren Vaerenberg (2)8–2Queen Elizabeth Stadium330
2 August 2014 Merthyr TownMcLaggon, Taylor, McDonaldWrexham Terrell, Bell3–2Penydarren Park
1 August 2015 F.C. United of Manchester/WrexhamFallon (F.C. United), Smith (Wrexham) None – 3-2Broadhurst Park2,022

Supporters Direct Shield

The inaugural winners of the Shield were Scarborough Athletic who beat Merthyr Town 2–0 on 24 July 2010 at AFC Telford United.[5]

Finals

Date Winner Scorers Runner-up Scorers Score Venue Attendance
24 July 2010 Scarborough AthleticPhillips, GibsonMerthyr Town2–0New Bucks Head 803
8 July 2012 LewesBreachFisher1–0Queen Elizabeth Stadium306
13 July 2013 1874 NorthwichHendley, Stewart, WildingAFC Rushden & Diamonds3–0Select Security Stadium130
30 July 2014 AFC Rushden & Diamonds Gearing, Dunkley HinckleyO'Connell, Facey2–2 (4–2 pens)Dog & Duck Stadium301
25 July 2015 Tonbridge Angels Blewden, Miles, Elder, Whitnell, ParkinsonFisher5-0 Longmead Stadium165

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.supporters-direct.org/homepage/aboutsupportersdirect/
  2. ↑ http://www.supporters-direct.org/homepage/aboutsupportersdirect/facts-figures/
  3. ↑ http://www.supporters-direct.org/homepage/aboutsupportersdirect/
  4. ↑ SD Fans' Weekend (including Annual Conference & SD Cup) Supporters Direct official site
  5. ↑ "Supporters Direct Shield: Merthyr 0 Boro 2". scarboroughathletic.com. 2010-07-25. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
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