NLSA Statement

[MariborKev]

WANTED : A voice for Irish football fans.

The last number of years have seen tremendous changes for domestic football in Ireland. But much remains to be done to improve the profile and image of the local game.

Amidst all these changes, however, the voice of Eircom league fans has been conspicuously absent. Fans are the life-blood of each and every football club, yet without any organisation to collate and represent their views, Eircom league supporters have been mere bystanders.

All that is set to change, however, with the introduction of a national organisation to represent the views and interests of all Eircom league supporters.

The National League Supporters Association.

The National League Supporters Association (NLSA) is a collection of interested individuals from across a wide range of Eircom league supporter groups. All found themselves brought together by a desire to see fans involved centrally in decisions affecting Irish football.

The role of the association has been defined in the following draft mission statement :

“The NLSA exists to unite and actively represent the views and interests of all supporters of domestic Irish football”.

The outline aims of the association have been drafted in the following six key points :

· The NLSA seeks to have the key Stakeholder position of supporters within Irish football acknowledged and respected by all those involved in the game.

· The organisation aims to use this Stakeholder position to secure continuous and significant improvements in the strength and standing of domestic Irish football.

· This will be achieved through uniting individual supporters and supporter groups from Eircom League clubs into a single, coherent and active voice.

· The strength delivered by this united voice will be used to lobby the FAI, media, government and clubs to ensure that the fan’s interests and views are taken into consideration at all times.

· The NLSA will be structured as a democratic body, with accountable representatives and open and clear decision-making channels.

· The best interests of domestic Irish football will at all times be prioritised over the parochial interests of our individual clubs.

A draft ‘manifesto’ for the NLSA has also been drawn-up. It lists the key areas requiring attention within the domestic game (e.g. facilities, profile, administration), and defines initiatives and campaigns to ensure the ideas and opinions of fans are fully considered in these.

However - the NLSA will not succeed as an organisation without the involvement of as many supporters as possible. Our strength will be delivered through being as credible and representative a voice as we can. Without this strength, we will achieve little.

The association is therefore actively seeking the involvement of as many fellow fans as possible, and to seek their input into the draft aims and manifesto. The weekend of the 2005 FAI Cup Final (Saturday 3rd December) has been selected as the official launch date, and first-ever AGM, of the NLSA. During that AGM, the association’s manifesto and constitution will be openly discussed and adopted, and its officers elected. This meeting will be open to anyone who is a member of the NLSA (as will election to the various officer posts).

The future of club football in Ireland is truly in your hands. For too long now the thoughts and views of Eircom League fans have gone unrepresented. Help make the NLSA the strongest voice possible for the good of our game.

To join, or to find out more, please contact us through
Website : www.nlsupporters.com
Email: info@nlsupporters.com

[soccerc]

Excellent stuff

[Colie]

Fair play, looks good.

[Dodge]

Great idea. Make sure only supporters clubs representatives are involved, keep the crackpots at a minumum and this thing has huge huge potential. Don't let it go like the last similar group

[tiktok]

Great stuff, very well put together.
Well done to all involved.

[BohDiddley]

Great stuff. Very best wishes.
If I had one thing to pitch in on this, it would be to keep the media message positive.
Banging on about legitimate grievances is great therapy but, unfortunately, PR is a shallow business.

[NY Hoop]

Super stuff. It's about time the fans unite and point the way to the future instead of clubs arguing with each other over petty things.

We'll see the interest the league officials have in it by their attendance on 3rd December.



KOH