European fans congress in Barcelona this summer

This post was taking in full from Football Supporters Europe Website. Please contact them directly from details within this feature for more information.

Football Supporters Europe (FSE), the independent and democratic voice for football fans across the continent, have announced the date and location of their 3rd annual congress. This year the fun and games take place in sunny Barcelona over the weekend of July 16th-18th.

Following last year’s successful event in Hamburg, which was attended by more than 350 supporters from 29 different countries across Europe, this year’s event will be key in shaping the direction of the supporter movement in the UK and beyond, as fans come together to mix ideas and cultures in a range of workshops, discussions and social events.

Since Hamburg 2009, the FSE Committee and various FSE members have travelled, debated, emailed, twittered and facebooked up and down the continent, and sometimes even beyond, to spread the word on the issues discussed. Working groups have been set up to help tackle the issues that face fans across a range of issues, in any number of countries. FSE have been busy establishing contacts with many more grassroots football fans, as well as lobbying the powers that be in the various football governing bodies and institutions to make the fans’ voice heard.

Topics for discussion at this year’s congress include:

* Behind Closed Doors Only!? Current Sanctions affecting Fans vs Self-Policing
* The F$&%ed Up Economics of Football
* Action Heroes Against Modern Football?! Ultras
* …not here for YOUR Entertainment! Female Football Fans
* Bridging a gap – Fan Liaison Officers as a model in Europe

FSE are thankful to the legion of Spanish football fans who’ve volunteered to support FSE and help them run the event. While the congress is supported by Uefa and FC Espanyol it is important to note that, as with everything it does, FSE remains completely independent.

FSE are able to provide some financial support for delegates of all fans’ groups without sufficient financial means towards travel costs and accommodation for their trip to Barcelona. Please contact them to let them know if you require any such assistance. The FSE congress is, of course, also fully disabled-accessible, and they would like to see as many fans with disabilities there as possible.

For further information about the weekend, and to register, head along to FSE’s website – www.footballsupporterseurope.org. The deadline for registrations is Friday June 18th.

We'll be there, and we look forard to seeing you in Spain