YBIG mandate - Sign up here

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 Independent fans need to have a voice on issues with Irish international football so we have drafted the following mandate. We are asking fans to sign up if you agree with our principles.
Purpose is to raise concerns of independent supporters and also to lobby for a unified voice of Supporters’ Club and independent supporters on areas of mutual interest;
Seek to partner with FAI on areas of previous co-operation such as charity initiatives and stadium atmosphere
In order to move this to the next stage, we need a mandate from site users!

As an internet forum, the demographic of users varies from those who visit the site on a daily basis to those who visit on a handful of occasions in a year.  What is clear is that the site, and particularly the associated forum, has been an essential resource for those attending Ireland games at home and particularly abroad.

Users on the site have long campaigned for a clear and transparent ticketing system, with the flaws of the existing system acutely shown prior to the Scotland game in 2014.  Site users analysed existing schemes in place in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England and other countries and have proposed this as a suitable model to the FAI.  This proposal was made long before the fiasco surrounding the Scotland game, and was raised with the FAI on a number of occasions before and since.

Since the Scotland game, the site and its users appear to have been labelled as “troublemakers” and the previously positive relationship with the FAI has deteriorated.  We believe that this is unfair, as the leadership of the FAI accepted that there were issues with the allocation of these tickets, but the channels of communication with the Association have dried up since late 2014.

The FAI established a network of Republic of Ireland Supporters’ Clubs in 2013 an this initiative must be welcomed. It appears that the only communication between the Association and the fan base will be conducted through this Confederation of Supporters’ Clubs.

Many YBIG users are not members of these official Supporters Clubs and wish to remain as “independent” supporters.  YBIG has always rejected the decision to become an official Supporters Club, a move supported by many on the site.  This decision became challenging in light of a policy decision to first prioritise the allocation of tickets to Supporters’ Clubs by the Association, and then also to consider Supporters’ Clubs and independent supporters as part of the same cohort for the allocation of tickets.

The result is that Supporters’ Clubs and independent supporters, under the umbrella of the ‘Fans Direct’ scheme, are now eligible to apply for 30% of away tickets.  YBIG believes that there is significant opportunity to bring further transparency to the allocation of tickets and has lobbied both the Association and also individual Supporters’ Clubs on this matter.

It is becoming clear that in order to ensure that the voice of independent supporters is heard, YBIG requires an official mandate which people can sign up to. The intention is to remain independent. This will ensure that the voice of independent supporters is heard on all issues from match safety, travel, ticketing etc.

We understand that many supporters will question this move and wonder why now?  We believe that we have exhausted all our existing avenues of communication with the Association and despite our best efforts, it appears that this may be the best channel for supporters to ensure that their voice is heard.

YBIG would like to invite supporters to sign up to this scheme in order to provide a mandate for the group.

Key Points

 Approach with FAI in order to establish a group structure to allow attendance at Confederation of Supporters’ Clubs events;
The group will not manage the allocation of tickets - independent supporters will continue to apply as usual through the Fans’ Direct Portal;
Group will seek to re-establish the previous working relationship between YBIG and FAI across areas such as charity initiatives and supporter experience;
All website users are eligible to apply for officer positions;
Next Steps

Debate the idea on this thread - we want to hear the views of everyone on this one;
If you agree with this please fill out the following form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OzJcEbCVECpwhCIT6UY2qc_MG8_1hvWLq9t6-SpL8E8/viewform

Edited by The Count - 08 Jun 2016 at 9:53pm