Football Supporters' Association#FSA Awards

The organisation was formed after the merger of two national football supporters' organisations, the Football Supporters' Federation and Supporters Direct, was agreed to on 22 November 2018.{{cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/fsa_annual_report_2019|title=The FSA Annual Review 2018-19|publisher=The FSA|access-date=12 January 2021|date=2019}} The name of the new organisation was announced on 6 June 2019.{{cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/news/introducing-the-football-supporters-association|title=Introducing the Football Supporters' Association|publisher=The FSA|access-date=12 January 2021|date=6 June 2019}}

The FSA represents more than 500,000 members made up of individual fans and more than 300 affiliated and associated supporters' organisations from every club in the professional game and many more throughout the whole footballing pyramid.{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/about/affiliates-and-associates/|title=Affiliates and associates|website=Football Supporters' Association}} Membership of the FSA is free to all fans, providing they promote the cause of diversity, oppose discrimination, reject violence and promote a positive culture of fair play and goodwill between all football supporters.{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/join/|title=Join|website=Football Supporters' Association}}

The FSA regularly meets with the football authorities and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the concerns of football supporters.

They are the structured dialogue partners of the Premier League, EFL and the National League, facilitating dialogue between those organisations and supporters. They also partner with football's anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out on the Fans for Diversity campaign,{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/our-work/fans-for-diversity/|title=Fans for Diversity|website=Football Supporters' Association}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickitout.org/pages/category/fans-for-diversity|title=Fans For Diversity|website=Kick It Out}} and with The FA, the Football Association of Wales and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on fans' embassies for England and Wales matches overseas.

They have regular dialogue with other groups, including the Professional Footballers' Association, the Independent Football Ombudsman and Police Match Commanders, among others, and are founder-members of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), working with other national and trans-national organisations as dialogue partners with UEFA. The FSA's chief executive, Kevin Miles, is an elected committee member of FSE.

The FSA is also secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters.{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/200224/football-supporters.htm|title=Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups [as at 24 February 2020]

|publisher=Parliament.uk|access-date=12 January 2021|date=24 February 2020}}

The FSA promotes the value of supporter and community engagement and helps supporters' trusts to secure influence and become a constructive voice in how their club is run. There are around 50 clubs owned by their supporters including the first ever supporter-owned football club in the United Kingdom, AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City, and Newport County,{{Cite web |title=Supporter ownership |url=https://thefsa.org.uk/our-work/supporter-ownership/ |website=Football Supporters' Association}} as well as clubs part-owned in partnership with supporters' trusts such as Swansea City.

The Stand Up For Choice campaign, previously known as the Safe Standing campaign, has received widespread political backing. At the 2019 UK general election all three major English political parties included a commitment to move towards safe standing in their manifestos.{{cite web |date=11 December 2019 |title=General Election 2019: what Conservatives, Labour & Liberal Democrats would do for football |url=https://www.wsc.co.uk/stories/14290-general-election-2019-what-conservatives-labour-liberal-democrats-would-do-for-football |access-date=12 January 2021 |publisher=When Saturday Comes}} Work on pilots of standing areas in the top flight which were to be explored after the publication of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Rapid Evidence Assessment into the all-seater policy{{cite web |date=2019 |title=Standing at Football, A Rapid Evidence Assessment |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/836546/Standing_at_Football_final_report.pdf |access-date=12 January 2021 |publisher=Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport}} in 2019 were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and the subsequent restrictions on supporters attending matches.

In 2020, partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the game but also as a result of long-standing finance and governance issues, the FSA launched the Sustain the Game! campaign. It calls for urgent action from the authorities to protect clubs throughout the country, for greater transparency and independent financial controls, and for the Government to deliver on its manifesto commitment of a 'fan-led review of football governance'.{{cite web|url=https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative%202019%20Manifesto.pdf|title=The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto|publisher=The Conservative and Unionist Party|access-date=12 January 2021|date= 2019}} The campaign received cross-party political support, as well as backing from hundreds of supporter organisations and football industry figures such as Jamie Carragher and Henry Winter.{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/our-work/sustainthegame/|title=Sustain The Game!|website=Football Supporters' Association}} The campaign launch came two months ahead of the divisive and unpopular 'Project Big Picture' proposals,{{cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/12102347/project-big-picture-q-a-all-you-need-to-know-about-premier-league-shake-up-proposal|title=Project Big Picture Q&A: All you need to know about Premier League shake-up proposal|publisher=Sky Sports|access-date=12 January 2021|date=14 October 2020}} which would have seen sweeping changes to the organisation of English football and which were ultimately unanimously rejected.{{cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/project-big-picture-unanimously-rejected-by-premier-league/1lx7vn3g8crsr1rutyxjuojxv4#:~:text=Project%20Big%20Picture%20'unanimously'%20rejected%20by%20Premier%20League%20and%20FA,-Dom%20Farrell&text=The%20Premier%20League%20has%20rejected,and%20sustainable%22%20league%20structure%22.|title=Project Big Picture 'unanimously' rejected by Premier League and FA|publisher=Goal.com|access-date=12 January 2021|date=14 October 2020}}

At its 2020 AGM the organisation formalised the creation of a network to represent supporters in the women's game,{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fsa-agm-2020-round-up/|title=FSA AGM 2020 round-up|date=January 5, 2021|website=Football Supporters' Association}} on the back of work over the preceding 18 months which saw the creation of more than 25 supporter groups throughout the top four divisions of women's football.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/nov/10/strength-in-unity-working-to-give-fans-of-womens-football-a-collective-voice|title=Strength in unity: working to give fans of women's football a collective voice|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 January 2021|date=10 November 2020}}

In 2022, local football supporters in Bury, Greater Manchester were urged to vote in a poll, facilitated by the FSA, regarding a potential merger of the supporters groups of Bury F.C. and Bury A.F.C. The FSA said there was no "viable and sustainable alternative to the merger", which, if approved, could potentially see the eventual return of professional football to the town's Gigg Lane stadium following Bury F.C.'s expulsion from the EFL in August 2019.{{cite news |last1=Oldman |first1=Isabel |title=Bury AFC members can vote to change club's name to Bury Football Club |url=https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/23030973.bury-afc-members-can-vote-change-clubs-name-bury-football-club/ |access-date=18 October 2022 |work=Bury Times |date=8 October 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Oldman |first1=Isabel |title=Bury FC fans group urges members to vote in long-awaited merger |url=https://www.burytimes.co.uk/sport/23039581.bury-fc-fans-group-urges-members-vote-long-awaited-merger/ |access-date=18 October 2022 |work=Bury Times |date=12 October 2022}}

The Football Supporters’ Association Player of the Year is an annual award, presented at the FSA Awards ceremony in association with 'BeGambleAware', given to the player who is adjudged to have had the best year in all of the divisions of Welsh and English football. The award has been presented since 2013, when the inaugural winner was Liverpool striker Luis Suárez.

The most recent winners of the award are Frida Maanum of Arsenal and {{sortname|Mohamed|Salah}} of Liverpool. Winners are selected by public vote following a nominations process.{{Cite web|url=https://thefsa.org.uk/news/nominations-open-for-2019-fsa-awards/|title=Nominations open for 2019 FSA Awards|date=October 8, 2019|website=Football Supporters' Association}}

The table indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY),{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1287470.stm|title=Only here for the peers|publisher=BBC|access-date=14 March 2008|date=20 April 2001}}{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4935884.stm|title=Gerrard named player of the year |publisher=BBC|access-date=14 March 2008|date=23 April 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6582201.stm|title=Ronaldo secures PFA awards double |publisher=BBC|access-date=14 March 2008|date=22 April 2007}} the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA),{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/engpoy.html|title=England – Players Awards|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|access-date=18 March 2008|date=4 October 2007}} the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY),{{cite web|url=http://www.givemefootball.com/rolls_of_honour/fansplayerofyearroll.html |title=PFA's Official Fan's Player of the Year: Previous Winners |publisher=The Professional Footballers' Association |access-date=14 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220145853/http://www.givemefootball.com/rolls_of_honour/fansplayerofyearroll.html |archive-date=20 February 2008 |url-status=dead}} the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS),{{cite web |url=https://www.premierleague.com/history/awards?se=-1&aw=20 |website=Premier League.com |access-date=9 September 2020|title=Premier League Awards, View Season–by-Season Stats }} and the PFA Young Player of the Year award (YPY).{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1287799.stm|title=Too much too young?|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 March 2008|date=20 April 2001|first=Frank|last=Keogh}}

Awards are issued in a variety of other categories, including pundits, podcasters, writers and other football media.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/17/guardian-wins-football-supporters-association-newspaper-of-the-year-award-seventh-time-in-row|title=Guardian wins FSA newspaper of the year award for seventh time in a row|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 January 2021|date=17 December 2019}}

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