The Scottish Football Supporters Association conducts bespoke research to support our work as a Think Tank and in response to the demands of fans for changes in Scottish football.
Time for a proper debate on VAR?
13th August 2024: In Sweden, members of most clubs adopted motions opposing VAR. In a big win for membership democracy in Swedish football (other countries take note!), the football authorities there have acquiesced to the fans’ wishes and Sweden is now the only one of the top 30 leagues in Europe to say no to the introduction of VAR. With the continuing furore over VAR in Scotland, we ran a quick survey at the end of the football season. Just under 1,000 people took part and 88% wanted a full review of VAR in Scotland.
Perception amongst fans supporting non-Premiership clubs on VAR
22nd July 2024: This survey, conducted in association with the University of Edinburgh, follows from our two previous surveys of fans on VAR. The first two were almost exclusively aimed and – and answered by – fans of Premiership clubs, the ones affected by VAR. However, with VAR never far from the headlines and many fans telling us they prefer watching lower Division games without it, we wanted to test opinion among fans of clubs* that aspire (even if only one day in the future) to be in the top flight of Scottish football and to see what their views are about VAR. Perhaps unsuprisingly, the majority believe that lower League football without VAR is more enjoyable…
Supporters Attitudes Towards the use of Pyrotechnics in Scottish football stadia
2nd May July 2024: The SFSA, as the leading fans’ organisation (with over 83,000 members), has debated pyros internally at some length. Our considered view is that the use of pyros at football grounds has been made illegal for the simple reason that they are too dangerous for safe use by fans. That said, we are well aware there is a counter argument for the “safe” use of pyros by fans, as is claimed is the case in some other countries – and/or a change to a totally regulated system whereby the football clubs/authorities provide displays, as happens at Scottish rugby international matches at Murrayfield. We wanted to ask fans what they think and ran a survey from 14th March to 20th April. In total, we received 3,230 responses. A substantial majority (64% of fans do not believe pyros enhance the atmosphere at a match. 36% (just over one third) believe they do.
The Impact of VAR, one year on…
11th December 2023: The results from this survey demonstrate clearly that Scottish football fans are not happy with the impact VAR has had on the game in the year since it was first introduced. Supporters spend their money to be lost in the moment of a goal being scored, but since the introduction of VAR that is no longer possible. Perhaps the most telling statistic is that two-thirds of fans would rather tolerate the errors that might come without VAR than put up with the interruptions that VAR introduces to the game. It is never a good idea for any industry to ignore the views of its customers or the overwhelmingly negative views fans have about VAR that this survey has clearly shown.
Supporter opinion on the introduction of VAR to Scottish football
24th January 2023: This is the first of our surveys on VAR, carried out after it had been in operation for only a short time. Nonetheless, fans were not happy…
Strict Liability
Scotland is the only country in Europe that does not have some form of Strict Liability (SL) for supporter behaviour and overall security in football grounds. Strict Liability means being able to hold a party responsible for certain actions and behaviour, even if that party was not directly at fault or negligent.1 In a football context, this means holding football clubs liable for the negative behaviour of their supporters.
Women in Football
There is no doubt that female fans are now a significant and growing part of the football audience for the men’s game (as well as the growing and successful women’s game) and that this warrants further research to see if an emerging market sector can be better understood. Utilising our membership data and previous research we have moved proactively to explore this further.
Fan Views on League Reconstruction:
29th April 2020: At the SFSA, we believe that supporters, as the key stakeholders in our game, should have a say in any potential league reconstruction. It is for this reason that we ran our recent league reconstruction survey, so that supporters have a way in which to make their voices heard:
The Impact of Covid 19 On Fan Behaviour:
4th July 2020: Football at all levels in Scotland has been suspended since the 13thof March 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This ceasing of any matchday revenue has cut clubs revenue by approximately 50% on average.
For some clubs, there is now light at the end of the tunnel, as plans are firmed up for the return of the Premiership and Championship and League 1 and 2 clubs begin consulting with the SPFL over their return.
However, the return of football throws up some big questions.
The #MoreThanJustAGame Campaign:
17th July 2020: Our feel-good campaign with Bauer Media: #MoreThanJustAGame, has been a huge success. It has highlighted the amazing work that fans and their clubs have acheived to support the local communities and those most in need throughout this pandemic. Fans have raised over £1 million for clubs through donations and helped keep their teams alive, which is an incredible achievement.
SFSA Members Audit 2020
4th December 2020: We at the SFSA believe that fans are the most important stakeholder within Scottish football. Without you, football is nothing, and so it is vital that we know your thoughts and opinions on how the game is run and have a fair opportunity to have your say. Our organisation is there to offer you a platform to express these views and we will be the ones to ensure they are heard by those at Hampden Park who run our game.
Our members audit was your chance to voice your opinion on several issues and let us know what you would like us to focus on. Below you will find the results to the questions asked in the audit and answered by you, our members. A huge thank you to all who contributed.
The SFSA Call on Fans to #GetTheBallRolling
14th December 2020: We’re delighted to announce the launch of our #GetTheBallRolling campaign with a powerful and provocative animated film developed by 3x BAFTA-winning animator Ross Hogg and multi award-winning creative, Gerry Farrell.
Gambling in Scottish Football
4th January 2021: In association with Gamble Aware, the SFSA launched a survey to investigate the relationship between gambling and Scottish football. The survey consisted of questions designed to understand the participants attitude towards gambling in Scottish Football, their level of participation and whether or not they used any measures to avoid impulsive gambling and if so, what these measures were.
SFSA Partner with Back Onside
20th February 2021: We at Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) are delighted to announce a partnership with Back Onside:
A Scottish charity looking to support those with mental health issues. Through a variety of programmes and workshops, focusing on sport, music, drama and art, Back Onside help to relieve mental health obstacles through peer-support and participation in activities that encourage good health and well-being.
Community Ownership
24th February 2021: Below you will find the results from our Community Ownership Survey which was released in August 2020 over a 4 week period. The survey looked to gather insightful responses from fans on community ownership and their positive and negative thoughts on the topic. During this time there were 410 responses. We would like to thank everyone who contributed and shared the survey.
Launch of the Scottish Football Alliance
30th May 2021:
The Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) has announced the formation of a new independent body – The Scottish Football Alliance – at its Conference today (30th May 2021) to deliver a long-term plan for the future of Scottish football.
ALLIANCE Website: www.scottishfootball.org
The SFSA’s First Annual Conference: “90 Minutes to Start Saving Scottish Football”
31st May 2021: On the 30th of May 2021, the SFSA held its first ever Annual Conference. This session allowed us to reflect on the Covid 19 season and year like no other, whilst offering a positive outlook on the future of Scottish football. Scottish football has its issues, but we can all be part of the solution.
Scotland EURO 2020 Review: “Scotland roared again at a major tournament – that counts as progress”
A review of Scotland’s performance at their first finals of a major tournament in 23 years by Ben Ramage, Reach Plc sports journalist and SFSA writer.
“Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad that it happened.”
SFSA Annual Report 2020-21
29th July 2021: The season of 20/21 was a challenging and difficult year for us all, with clubs and fans across the country facing the hardship of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its effects still being felt to this day. However, despite the challenges faced, football carried on. And with the support of their fans, clubs were able to see through this season like no other.
SFSA Partnership with Her Game Too
20th August 2021: The SFSA are delighted to formally announce a partnership and upcoming research with Her Game Too, a passionate and determined organisation who aim to address the issue of sexism and misogyny towards female fans.
Fan Consultation on Use of Pyrotechnics
21st August 2021: t is vitally important that the opinions of football fans are recognised for a consultation such as this as it is fans who will be directly affected, and this input may shape future regulative measures and the match day experience for fans across the country. Whether you agree or disagree with the use of pyrotechnics, and how they are managed, we at the SFSA provide opportunities like this to allow fans to have direct influence on the outcome as we believe we should ALL have a say in how our game is managed. Below you will find a key findings summary, with a PDF containing the full results at the bottom of the page.
Scottish Government Supports SFSA Campaign to Improve Grassroots Access to Defibrillators
26th December 2021: The SFSA is launching a campaign to increase the number of defibrillators at its member clubs, in a bid to help save more lives from cardiac arrests.
The initiative is backed by Scottish Sports Minister Ms Maree Todd who made available an additional £250 grant for clubs, which will be available from 1st January 2022.
According to the British Heart Foundation, there are around 3,200 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Scotland every year. Efforts to improve survival mean that one in ten people now survive such an event, compared to one in twenty in 2015. Continued efforts could improve this even further
SFSA x HGT Female Fan Survey Results
23rd February 2022: The SFSA have been working in partnership with Her Game Too (HGT), a female fan-oriented movement founded in England.
As an organisation who aims to represents all fans equally, the SFSA offered our support to research how Scottish Female fans think the Scottish game treats its female fans.
Our starting point was to replicate earlier research from the English game.
This was to gather insights and understanding of actual female fans experiences supporting their teams in Scotland and to identify any issues that may be present which aren’t being addressed.
Cost of Living Research Results
22nd November 2022: The Scottish Football Supporters Association has conducted a national supporter’s consultation to identify how the rising cost of living is affecting fans, predict what the potential implications are for clubs, and to gather supporter opinion on suggested solutions to issues.
SFSA Annual Report 2022
28th January 2023: 2022 was a year that not only saw fans return to football stadiums in full after the rollercoaster of the pandemic, but both Scotland’s Men’s and Women’s team have mixed performances and some major changes occur in Scottish Football with the introduction of VAR in the Premiership, and a restructuring of the Women’s game.
Scotland’s 150th Anniversary Kit Fan Reaction: SFSA Statement
22nd March 2023: The following statement was published shortly after the release of Scotland’s 150th Anniversary Kit which was revealed to cost £90 for an Adult size and £70 for a child size. This left many fans across the county bitterly disappointed following days of anticipation and hype surrounding the kit announcement as the cost of living crisis has made this special release simply unaffordable, with little to no consideration towards Scottish football fans and the Tartan Army.
SFSA Rejection of new Conference League
The SFSA Rejects the New SFA Conference League Proposal on behalf of 80,000 members, and the good of the game.
Fans want and support the call for change and changes but see the current plans as an unnecessarily confusing conflation of three key issues rather than a balanced and thought through solution.
We would also ask why again there has been limited club and no fan input to significant planned strategic changes to Scottish Football?
SFSA’s Fans Bank officially launched with the Scottish Government
31st May 2023: Way back in the In the early days of the Scottish Football Supporters Association’s formation, our Co- Founder Paul Goodwin who had been involved in all the major community ownership initiatives in Scotland, reached out to the Scottish Government to help fans. We are delighted to say that after a significant amount of hard work the Fans Bank got cross party support on its parliamentary journey and was finally launched today. Its first piece of business being a loan that will allow Falkirk FC fans become the biggest shareholder in the club.
FANS LED REVIEW LAUNCHED AT HOLYROOD – PRESS RELEASE: Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA)
21st June 2023: DESPITE some recent successes, football in Scotland “lacks an overall vision and a comprehensive and coherent set of values, principles, outcomes, and objectives to secure long-term success and consistency”, says a fan-led review of the game published by an alliance of key stakeholders in association with the Scottish Football Supporters’ Association.
A Heartfelt Tribute to Scotland Legend and SFSA Supporter Craig Brown, by Ben Ramage
“The first time I interviewed Craig Brown, I’ll be honest enough to say I was a nervous wreck.
Fresh out of university, I’d graduated with a journalism degree but I hadn’t interviewed anyone who’d had such a significant impact on Scottish football as the last man to take his country to the World Cup.
That famous 1998 tournament opener against Brazil, when the eyes of the world were on our wee nation, remains one of my earliest memories of the beautiful game.”
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