Supporters Direct

Formation	January 2000
Location	London
Region served	United Kingdom
Chief Executive	Ashley Brown
Website	www.supporters-direct.org

Supporters Direct was an umbrella organisation set up originally by theBritish government (with cross-party support) to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic representation within football clubs and within football's governing structures. Its first managing director was Brian Lomax, founder of the first supporters' trust atNorthampton Town F.C. Supporters Direct also worked in other sports, most notablyrugby league, as well asice hockey. It was also funded byUEFA to work in football across Europe.

Amongst other things, Supporters Direct promoted the value of supporter and community engagement and helpedsupporters' trusts to secure influence and become a constructive voice in how their club is run. There are now over 200 supporters' trusts in the UK; clubs owned in partnership with supporters' trusts such asSwansea City A.F.C. and over 50 clubs owned by their supporters includingEnfield Town FC, the first ever supporter owned football club in the United Kingdom,AFC Wimbledon,Exeter City F.C.,Newport County andWrexham F.C.^[1][2]

Existing as a Community Benefit Society,^[1] Supporters Direct was owned by its members and funded by a combination of the Fans Fund ofthe Football Stadia Improvement Fund, The RFL, UEFA. theScottish Government, and member trust subscriptions. The consultancy Club Development allowed SD to expand its work in other sports at all levels of the game.

Unfortunately SD ran into some financial difficulties and was placed under pressure by the Fans Fund (which is run by the Premier League to merge back office operations with the Football Supporters Federation. Some felt that this was due to Supporters Direct often being critical of the way football is governed. However, on 28 July 2018 a full merger was approved by both organisations at their AGMs. On 22 November the merger was finalised at an EGM with the former FSF chair elected as chair of the newly merged organisation.^[3]

The Brian Lomax Supporters Direct Cup is an annual invitational, pre-season friendly competition established by Supporters Direct. The cup is competed for between supporter-owned clubs and was first won byAFC Wimbledon, who beatEnfield Town, 3–2, on 12 August 2002 atCheshunt. Other winners have beenAFC Telford United,Brentford,Enfield Town andFC United of Manchester. AFC Wimbledon have featured six times in the match and FC United made their fifth appearance in 2011.

In 2013, the Supporters Direct Cup featured a fixture between Scottish sides for the first time, withDunfermline Athletic going head to head againstHeart of Midlothian atEast End Park on 13 July. Both sides at the time were in administration however, Dunfermline Athletic have since exited administration and are owned by fans group, Pars United. Hearts won the match 2–1.

The cup itself was paid for by subscriptions fromsupporters' trusts and individual fans, and is inscribed withJock Stein's maxim, "Football without fans is nothing." In the spirit of the fixture, gate receipts from the match are split between competing clubs.

The inaugural winners of the Shield wereScarborough Athletic who beatMerthyr Town 2–0 on 24 July 2010 atAFC Telford United.^[4]

• Supporters' trust
• Football Supporters Europe

• Official website

• Sports organisations of the United Kingdom
• Supporters' trusts

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2014
• Use British English from March 2014