Regan resignation offers opportunity for fresh regime, says Sons fan Barrow

Dr Joachim Lammert of the University of Leipzig, a consultant, former First Minister Henry McLeish, who is on the board of the Scottish Football Supporters Association with Sons’ fan Simon Barrow (centre)., 

SCOTTISH FANS WANT FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE REFORM

• Regan departure can be a ‘moment of opportunity’
• Fan representation ‘critical to achieving change’
• SFSA establishes independent governance working party

February 2, 2018: Simon Barrow, chair of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, which has 71,000 members across all professional clubs in Scotland, said:

“The departure of Stewart Regan as head of the SFA raises once again the urgent need to address fundamental reform of the governance of Scottish football. It is not about an individual but about a system.

“The SFSA sees this as a moment of opportunity to promote deep structural and cultural reform, based on a clear vision of the renewal of Scottish football from the grassroots up.

“We recently conducted the first ever professional benchmarking survey looking at what supporters, players, managers, officials and others thought about the way Scottish football is governed and run. The results showed a huge level of dissatisfaction and a huge appetite for change.

“SFSA has therefore established an independent working group of people with senior football and management experience committed to producing radical, practical proposals for reform. Its findings will be shared publicly and with the football authorities later in the year.

“One key issue for consideration is clearly the question of a single governance body, with statutory representation of fans and other stakeholders in the game.

“When SFSA was launched in 2015 we declared that ‘We Believe in Scottish Football’. That belief is what seems to have been lacking at the highest levels of the game in recent years. It can and should be restored.

“The confidence and engagement of fans, who love and fund the game, is critical to achieving real change.”

The SFSA can be found on Twitter @scottishfsa or through #reclaimthegame and on Facebook.