#SDSSummit 2016 Round-up

Date: 14th January 2016

We were delighted to welcome over 80 fans to Hampden Park for the Supporters Direct Scotland Supporters Summit 2016 (sponsored by Community) on the 10th of January.

The day started with a game between a Supporters Direct Scotland X11 and the Scottish Parliament team at Lesser Hampden in which players from all reaches of the game took on politicians and researchers from Holyrood.

Among those playing for the SDS X11 were former Scotland internationals Tom Boyd, Gordon Smith, Frank McGarvey and Suzanne Grant. Also participating were Blair Glynn of the Scotland disability team, Tracy and Mandy Burns, Stacy Cook, goalkeeper Barry John Paul, reporters Andy Newport and Gordon Duncan, Darryl Broadfoot of the Scottish FA and fans Dougie and Davy who won a Twitter competition to participate in the game.

The game itself was a lively affair in which the Scottish Parliament team eventually victored in a 2-1 win.

Highlights from the game are on our YouTube channel and photos on our Facebook page.

Ken MacIntosh MSP received the Supporters Cup on behalf of the Parliament side and from Frank McGarvey at the Summit.

The Summit was then kicked-off and guided by compere Eilidh Barbour and following short speeches from SDS Chairman Neil Bone and Head of SDS Andrew Jenkin, attendees were able to hear from the Sports Minister Jamie Hepburn on the Scottish Government’s consultation on supporter involvement (which closes on the 15th of January).

Following the Minister’s talk, attendees were enchanted by Phil Sumbler of the Swansea City Supporters Trust who outlined their path to owning 21% in the Premier League club.

Phil was the focus of the Summit’s Question and Answer panel, answering a range of questions about the Trust and their journey. Also on the panel were Andrew Jenkin, Darryl Broadfoot of the Scottish FA and Sean Hamil and Lee Price who presented after the lunch break.

Q: what are main barriers to fan involvement. @andrewjenkin says access to capital. @DarrylBroadfoot says bravery to embrace change faster.

— Scottish Fans (@ScottishFans) January 10, 2016

Author Lee Price then took to the stage to discuss his book ‘The Bundesliga Blueprint’ and outlined what Scotland could learn from the Bundesliga and their approach to supporter involvement.

Supporters Liaison Officers have a key role in representing the supporters views to the clubs in Germany. #SDSSummit

— The Killie Trust (@TheKillieTrust) January 10, 2016

The talks were concluded by academic and former Director of Sean Hamil who took time to reflect on the fan ownership model.

Scary stuff @ScottishFans #SDSSummit 59 bankruptcies in 21 years pic.twitter.com/R32PnOndu4

— Swans Trust (@swanstrust) January 10, 2016

Following the talks, attendees were invited to join workshops and training sessions. These were delivered by David Watt of the Institute of Directors (talking about being a Sports Director and what Governance means), Niahm O’Mahony (of the Irish Supporters Network) and Michael Brunskill of the Football Supporters Federation (discussing ticket pricing).

#supportersdirect @scottishfans #sdssummit Training for Board members available @IoD_Scotland https://t.co/Hvtt5PXAas

— IoD Scotland (@IoD_Scotland) January 10, 2016

During the Summit, we were able to present the Well Society a gift for their work during Fan Ownership which concluded with Motherwell’s game against Hearts.

Great to present @TheWellSociety and @mkirkwood74 with a gift for their work on Fan Ownership @ #SDSSummit yesterday pic.twitter.com/9wjwAhuQ4b

— Scottish Fans (@ScottishFans) January 11, 2016

We’d like to thank all of the attendees and speakers for their time during the day. Further highlights from the day will be available via our YouTube channel.

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