HCST - Away Supporters’ Initiative Fund: Where’s the money gone?

Anyone know?

Don't make me have to Google.

 

I don't believe it is about giving it back, as the money is from each individual club. I believe (back in 2013) each club made a commitment, to the PL, to set aside £200K a year, for 3yrs, a total of £12M. Where has the money gone can otherwise be expressed as when and where is the commitment going to be honoured for this season. The other question is whether or not there are compliance levels or sanctions in place to ensure the obligation is honoured.

 

I think you're right.

I hadn't realised that it wasn't money given to the club, but a recommendation that clubs set aside £200,000 of their own money to enhance the away fan experience.

Looking at this article on the folowing link, they could point out that the stand move benefits away fans, and claim some or all of that as the spend.

http://www.wearepremierleague.com/2014/04/how-clubs-spend-200k-away-fans-fund.html


If that's correct, the article in the OP of this thread is wrong.

 

I recall reading that clubs have to disclose its spending to the PL.

 

£200k? I believe that if it isn't used, it reverts to a donation to the Labour party.

 

The BBC seem to support the view in the OP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24446082

"The 20 top-flight clubs have been given £200,000 each to subsidise travelling fans, with some offering ticket deals and others providing free coach travel."

 

Maybe like Man Utd last season, if we don't use it this season then it'll be added to next year's pot.

 

The football supporters federation say it's money that the clubs set aside from their own budget.

"The Away Supporters Initiative was introduced last season when Premier League clubs agreed to set aside £12m spread over three seasons “to make the matchday experience better for travelling fans”. This equates to £200,000 per club, per season."

http://www.fsf.org.uk/latest-news/view/away-supporters-initiative-201415

 

There also appears to be a difference in how much clubs spend each season. The funding is 12m shared between the clubs over 3 seasons. Slightly different to £200k each club each season. Not defending the lack of info, just pointing put that there is a ready made excuse just waiting to be used.

 

It's all part of the TV money handed to clubs by the PL. Some is given out unconditionally and a very small amount is set aside for encouraging away support.

The problem is whether the PL can and will do anything about it. There seems to be a theme that governing bodies are unprepared for mentalists like Allam doing stuff like this. Whether it's the FA's rules on using your club' name, the council's lease on the stadium and arena, or the PL's rules on ASI money, there seems to be an attitude of "No one would do that surely?".

 

So it's effectively both. It's money from the club's budget, but that came from the Prem with strings attached. That makes the apparently conflicting articles make sense.

I would have thought it would have been better for the Prem to hold the cash, and ask for bids for initiatives. That way, more active clubs could do more, as they'd have access to the slipage due to others not using it.

It still seems unclear if there are implications if this money's spent elsewhere. I guess one would be that it would fall in to the ffp calculation.

That'd be ironic, if we paid the ffp fine from the ASI fund.

 

But PLT, the club has not done anything wrong, if the money is spread over 3 seasons. It should have disclosed the spend, but from reading different articles, there is still a seasonal go.

Was 600k given to the club?
Is there any condition of how and when they use it for away fans.
Do they have to consult home supporters?

Questioning the club is fine, but condemning it may be an over the top reaction. I agree that we should know, but it does look likely that the club has an argument that they still intend to spend the money next season.

 

If the club do plan to use it next season, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them to announce that, even if they don't give specific detail.

 

All of this can be simply avoided if the club would communicate effectively with the fans.

 

The club have repeatedly promised announcements on how the money will be spent. They suggested excess stock would be made available for free at the Swansea game, although this didn't materialise (no doubt after being told they couldn't offset their **** against the cash).

I'd say it's a fair assumption to suggest they don't have a plan in place at all. Sound familiar?

 

I think you're right, but I get the impression that this could simply be a list of measures that could be loosely linked to away support, rather than budgeted accounts.

Apparently we score highly on trip advisor as an away fans location, so anything related to that could probably be counted. I'd guess the cost of relocation of the away fans would soak up quite a chunk of that three year spend. Quite benevolent of us really.

 

I'd say you're right.

 

I though the club said they made a loss last season? Surely if the money is spread over 3 years then it wouldn't matter which season the money was spent in.

 

The club claim to make nothing from Tiger Travel, so again a guess, but if other clubs make a profit, could the club argue they've subsidising travel for two seasons?