Northern Ireland v Austria

SUPPORTERS UNITE ACROSS EUROPE

I have written previously about the work that our supporters’ organisation, the AONISC, does around away international matches through our voluntary Northern Ireland Fan Embassy.

volunteers and with no core-funded staff. In all fans from 22 countries organise fan embassies for their matches. Another issue we worked very closely with our other European colleagues on was the decision by UEFA to rule that our 2011 match against Serbia in Belgrade be played behind closed doors. FSE lobbied UEFA on our behalf and thankfully when I travelled to Nyon, along with an IFA delegation, our combined efforts managed to persuade the then UEFA President, Michel Platini, of the injustice of our situation and around 250 fans were then allowed into the match. Remarkably we were the last fans’ group to achieve this and frustratingly this sanction has become more commonplace in recent years, but on that occasion fan power helped to win the day. You can find out more about us through our social media platforms @AoNISC_Travel on Twitter and TheAmalgamation at Facebook. Gary McAllister Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs

The foundations and success of this initiative have been built through relationships established over more than a decade. One relationship which has been key is our affiliation to Football Supporters’ Europe, a network of football supporters’ groups. The FSE network now has members and affiliates in 48 countries throughout the UEFA region, is officially recognised by European football’s governing body and its representatives lobby and meet with senior UEFA figures, including the President, throughout the year. The AONISC hosted the Fan Congress in 2015. More than 300 fans from across the continent travelled to Belfast to participate in the four-day programme of events. The congress is held bi- annually and concludes with the election of the committee, with our own honorary treasurer, Jim Spratt, now in his second term. Of the many issues on which FSE are active, two are of particular interest and relevance to Northern Ireland fans. The Fan Embassy project seeks to include supporters within dialogue between match organisers, football associations, the police and other relevant agencies. The FSE Fan Embassy steering group includes a representative from the AONISC and our own work is recognised as a model of good practice, being the only one of the eight countries represented on the steering group which relies entirely on

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