Who does the NLSA represent

**A face** · 08/03/2006, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by Colm

No I haven't spoken to A face about the matter but I have spoken to other people who are members and they say they have not even been informed about meetings etc and the first they saw of some recent statement or minutes was when it was posted on our forum. Even the person who the NLSA seems to be touting as our representative didn't even know he was supposedly our representative!!!!
To quote one City fan "it's just a load of Dublin City and UCD fans on a pwer trip getting above their station". Now I know that's not the case but if that's the perception out there it's not good.

I dunno, imo opinion its whoever was proactive at the start, it doesn't really matter what clubs anyone is from.

So you're not denying it so yeah !?!?

Absolutely spot on. They seem to be claiming to represent EL supporters when they have no right, down the line when it's properly up and running and they are affiliated with at least 2 or 3 supporters groups from EVERY club that would be perfectly fine but it's too soon to be doing so. Walk before you can run i.e. get the thing off the ground and set up before you start issuing statements and meeting with the FAI etc.

Agreed with that to a point, the secretaryand PRO needs to be a bit more active but as has been said, its still in its infancy ..... and anyone willing ot help out is more than welcome.

**Macy** · 08/03/2006, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by A face

Agreed with that to a point, the secretaryand PRO needs to be a bit more active but as has been said, its still in its infancy ..... and anyone willing ot help out is more than welcome.

So one club, (and in at least one case one person) can make the nlsa unrepresentative? Just because they weren't asked nice enough?

They already represent fans from the majority of clubs, the can represent their members as soon as they have any. I really don't see the problem here. It's truely depressing that people are more concerned with their ego's than an organisation set up by fellow fans, to give fans a voice. What submissions would've been made without them by eL fans? Did Fintan/Shels SC/ Colm make any submissions? We all know the answer is zero submissions from fans apart from the nlsa, who's committee are volunteers.

**Poor Student** · 08/03/2006, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Colm

To quote one City fan "it's just a load of Dublin City and UCD fans on a pwer trip getting above their station". Now I know that's not the case but if that's the perception out there it's not good.

If someone is stupid enough to have formed that opinion then that's their fault. There's two UCD fans in the NLSA, Bald Student and Pineapple Stu. I don't know a single Dub City fan involved. The committee members are here on foot.ie. If you want to get any info you can PM them or even ask here.

Originally Posted by Colm

Absolutely spot on. They seem to be claiming to represent EL supporters when they have no right, down the line when it's properly up and running and they are affiliated with at least 2 or 3 supporters groups from EVERY club that would be perfectly fine but it's too soon to be doing so. Walk before you can run i.e. get the thing off the ground and set up before you start issuing statements and meeting with the FAI etc.

Every club has supporter clubs that claim to represent the club's fans even though a lot of fans are not members of them. Yet when a club makes a move that fans disagree with who is the only body that can articulate those problems to the club? It's the same with the NLSA. The body now exists to articulate problems to the FAI and communicate with it. As many people as they like are welcome to join the organisation and shape and influence it. It's in it's infancy stages but it is still the only such body to do these things and it does have supporter clubs on board from the majority of eL clubs. You can't expect the organisation to be fully structured and complete before it does anything as it was set up as a rapid response to the ticket issue. That incident was the catalyst to set up something useful. Lets move on from here and build on that opportunity.

Also, something I ask the lads to clarify as I think this is creating the confusion. Is the NLSA a federation of individual club's supporter clubs or is it a single entity which just holds membership of individuals?

**harpskid** · 08/03/2006, 11:35 AM

Only two UCD fans are on the committee - Pineapple and Bald Student.

There aint any Dub City fans on it!

The other members of the executive are myself, Maribor Kev and NY Hoop.

**harpskid** · 08/03/2006, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by Poor Student

Also, something I ask the lads to clarify as I think this is creating the confusion. Is the NLSA a federation of individual club's supporter clubs or is it a single entity which just holds membership of individuals?

Both...

Supporters Clubs can join the NLSA or individual members can join. So, for example, the Ballybofey Finn Harps Supporters Club can join as a group, but someone not part of a Supporters Club can also join themselves

**A face** · 08/03/2006, 12:09 PM

Macy, Poor Student, Harpskid .... i agree with ye here and being honest if people are more worried about the ego or whatever then i cant really seeing them as being a loss, no disrespect to anyone of course.

It is the actual issues raised by members that the NLSA should be more concerned with. Although it is good to get this out in the open i.e. any concern that anyone has raised has been answered at this stage and while the question now seems stupid, its was worth asking if the answer wasn't clear.

And i wouldn't even worry about people worried about representation, NLSA represents its members and it never claimed otherwise .... you cant really babysit people through this. They either get it or they dont.

**Buile Shuibhne** · 08/03/2006, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by Poor Student

and it does have supporter clubs on board from the majority of eL clubs. You can't expect the organisation to be fully structured and complete before it does anything as it was set up as a rapid response to the ticket issue. That incident was the catalyst to set up something useful. Lets move on from here and build on that opportunity.

Also, something I ask the lads to clarify as I think this is creating the confusion. Is the NLSA a federation of individual club's supporter clubs or is it a single entity which just holds membership of individuals?

How many and which supporters clubs are actually affiliated at the present?

Have NLSA written to / made direct contact with any other supporters clubs?

**Poor Student** · 08/03/2006, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Fintan Cassidy

How many and which supporters clubs are actually affiliated at the present?

Ask them.

Originally Posted by Fintan Cassidy

Have NLSA written to / made direct contact with any other supporters clubs?

Have supporters clubs written to/made direct contact with the NLSA?

**pineapple stu** · 08/03/2006, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by Fintan Cassidy

Have NLSA written to / made direct contact with any other supporters clubs?

The SCs we've been dealing with with regards the Ireland tickets were e-mailed a month or two back with a view to joining formally. This has, I understand, been discussed at many of those clubs, and the word is positive. We're sending out a letter - hopefully next week - to those clubs formally inviting membership, reps, feedback channels, etc., etc. Maybe we should wait until then before continuing this thread?

We're also getting contacts for other SCs and are going to send them the same letter at the same time. On that issue, I note that I still haven't got your SC's e-mail address. If you send it on (as I've invited you to do before on this thread), we'll add you to our list. Incidentally, I took your good advice to get the Herald today as well - the shop across the way hasn't got it in as yet, but I will get hold of a copy and contact those included.

I also note you - or anybody - haven't actually raised any issues with the minutes or the likes. Which must mean that the issues we raised are of interest to and broadly representative of supporters' views.

**MariborKev** · 08/03/2006, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by A face

NLSA represents its members and it never claimed otherwise .... you cant really babysit people through this. They either get it or they dont.

Correct.

The Membership forms(for individuals and for SCs) are available on the NLSA forum.

**Schumi** · 08/03/2006, 1:39 PM

Is it a coincidence that the complaints about the NLSA are from reps of the supporters' clubs with the closest ties to their clubs?

**Poor Student** · 08/03/2006, 1:40 PM

Fintan, is there anything you object to aside from you not being specifically and individually set out and asked to join? Now that you are aware of the existence of the NLSA and have been publicly offered an invitation to get in contact with it I assume you'll be promptly go about joining it or are there any other objections you have to it?

**harpskid** · 08/03/2006, 3:14 PM

Individual membership forms are available HERE

Supporters Club membership forms HERE

**Gareth** · 08/03/2006, 4:51 PM

When I posted my post, I was merely synopsizing what I thought were the two camps? I have discussed this with no one (not even Fintan

) and I am NOT a member of the Shelbourne Supporters Club so I cant talk for them either. So Shels have no conspiracy to undermine this if your basing it on my comments. I am merely pointing out what Colm said previously.

Eitherway when the NLSA does cover the league then cool.

Apart from that, best of luck with it.

**Speranza** · 08/03/2006, 5:36 PM

So the problem is that you and other people did not get special invitations to join the NLSA from the outset. Get a grip! You are now being invited to join the group so do it. It would appear that Fintan Cassidy and others are self-obbsessed and because they weren't specified from the outset think others aren't recognising their importance. Either that or $helbyrne see the NLSA as a threat to their hotline to the top. I think it's the latter and I'm not surprised.

**Buile Shuibhne** · 08/03/2006, 5:44 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

The SCs we've been dealing with with regards the Ireland tickets were e-mailed a month or two back with a view to joining formally. This has, I understand, been discussed at many of those clubs, and the word is positive. We're sending out a letter - hopefully next week - to those clubs formally inviting membership, reps, feedback channels, etc., etc. Maybe we should wait until then before continuing this thread?

We're also getting contacts for other SCs and are going to send them the same letter at the same time. On that issue, I note that I still haven't got your SC's e-mail address. If you send it on (as I've invited you to do before on this thread), we'll add you to our list. Incidentally, I took your good advice to get the Herald today as well - the shop across the way hasn't got it in as yet, but I will get hold of a copy and contact those included.

I also note you - or anybody - haven't actually raised any issues with the minutes or the likes. Which must mean that the issues we raised are of interest to and broadly representative of supporters' views.

As i said earlier, the new season's cmtee of the Shelbourne Supporters Club hasn't been elected yet, but I'll be happy to pass the letter to them when they get going. The SSC don't have an email address funny enough - I think out of a cmtee of 10, only 2 of us would be on the net? I'll also pass on copies of your letter to Reds Independent & Briodgaid Dearg.

I still maintain that you should have made such moves to contact supporters clubs 6 months ago, before geting involved in Genesis & meetings with FAI on behalf of ALL eL supporters

**Bald Student** · 08/03/2006, 6:01 PM

Originally Posted by Fintan Cassidy

I still maintain that you should have made such moves to contact supporters clubs 6 months ago, before geting involved in Genesis & meetings with FAI on behalf of ALL eL supporters

If I may add my two cents to the discussion,
I can see Fintan's point that we could have been quicker in formalising our membership structure. The group was founded in an emergency when we didn't have time to worry about that but like Fintan said, that was six months ago so he has a valid point. I hope that that problem is in the past now. Membership forms are available at a link given earlier or if anyone has any difficulty with them my e-mail is jcraddock@campus.ie

On the second point about getting involved with Genesis and meeting the FAI I disagree. I think it's a weakness in the genesis report that only one supporter was contacted for his opinion (and that contact was fairly brief). I would have expected genesis to have consulted more widely that that. I don't think you can hold the one group who were contacted responsible for the fact that they didn't contact anyone else. On the same theme, the FAI proposed two changes to the league format without consulting anyone publically. We arranged a meeting with them after the event (we were meeting them anyway over international tickets), the minutes of which are on this forum somewhere.