Spirit of Shankly, like other grass roots supporter organisations, is  disappointed to hear that Supporters Direct have lost their funding from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) (Press Release here). Spirit of Shankly is fully supportive of Supporters Direct having benefited from their advice, guidance and expertise in recent years as we examined the possibilities of supporter investment and ownership of Liverpool Football Club, as well as their support both publicly and behind the scenes in our battle to rid the club of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Well known for their role in establishing supporter trusts and assisting fans in their ownership of their clubs, the work done by Supporters Direct is invaluable to the wider supporter organisation movement. As an organisation they have helped many supporters and shown that supporter ownership of football clubs can, and does,  work. Dave Boyle, who has resigned as Chief Executive of Supporters Direct, was part of the selection panel for the recently launched Liverpool FC Supporters Committee, using his wealth of knowledge and understanding from his work to assist the Club in choosing representatives for the new committee.

An Early Day Motion tabled on 13th June has subsequently been signed by seventeen MPs calling for the Government to reaffirm its support for Supporters Direct. At a time of great uncertainty for Supporters Direct, there is also a growing optimism among supporter organisations that change can become realistic following the Football Governance Inquiry, and it is important that we are fully behind the aims and work of Supporters Direct. We would urge all our members to contact their local MP, asking them to support EDM 1909.

A template is available below for members who wish to use it to contact their MP. You can find out who your MP is and their contact details here.