I’m going to get blasted for some of the content you’re about to read, I just know it. I’ll get it out of the way now.
Look, I’m delighted for the people who got their pictures in the news today regarding the baby-boom, genuinely the proud Mums and Dads have something to tell their offspring whilst growing up. However, is it real news? Did someone report there had been a baby boom in the city, or did a PR company decide they needed an angle the week before the FA Cup and make one up? I’ll tell you now, it was the latter. They looked for Imps fans who had babies and completely fabricated a story to squeeze the last little bit of juice out of our cup run. I’m pleased for everyone who got some exposure, it must be amazing to see your little one in the paper or on the TV, but if the Sun are there you know it isn’t real news.
What is real news is the nomination of L.I.S.A in the Football Supporters Federation ‘Fans for Diversity’ Award. The FSF hold an annual awards ceremony and our own Lady Imps Supporters Association has been nominated for a prize. It is a prestigious nomination, especially given the lack of League Two representation across the other categories.
L.I.S.A was founded in March 2017 on the back of the Imps increased attendances. It was noticed that the expanding fan base contained many women and families, and the group set about encouraging and celebrating female supporters. From a humble Facebook page they quickly became on organised ‘not for profit’ group before introducing a membership scheme part-funded by the FSF.
It may not seem diverse to have a group specifically aimed at female supporters, but that isn’t the whole story. Despite the name they welcome either gender (or indeed a third gender) and state that it ‘does not support the division or segregation of our supporters’. Co-founder Martin Ryder, very much a male, made the following statement on social media announcing the nomination; “Delighted to announce that L.I.S.A has been nominated for the national 2017 FSF – Fans for Diversity award. A big thank you to everyone connected to the group, even a nomination is a huge honour.”
I know members of L.I.S.A, not just the main faces but one or two people who have joined. Without naming anyone I know that they do provide an environment where people who struggle with social interaction have felt they can attend and be part of something. Football is easy to be a part of if you’re ‘one of the lads’ or if your Dad and his Dad went to matches, but I imagine it could be a lonely place if you didn’t know anyone, didn’t feel safe or indeed suffered from anxiety. L.I.S.A doesn’t just work with females wanting to go to games, they’re far more inclusive than that and will have a significant impact on some lesser represented social groups getting to games and meetings.
L.I.S.A are up against some hard-hitters in terms of diversity, with Punjabi Wolves Supporters and Proud Lilywhites thought to be amongst the front runners. Also nominated are Blues 4 All, Fans Supporting Foodbanks (Merseyside) and Proud and Palace.
Punjabi Wolves Supporters are, rather predictably, are a supporter group of Wolves representing a diverse and multi-cultural fan base. Their website states; “Punjabi’s have been seen and heard in the Molineux terraces for many a year now and two of the first known were a Mr Laskar Singh & Mr Lachhman whom experienced their first home match back in 1954. They were persuaded by their fellow work colleagues and to attend but, until then, were apprehensive due to hearing about trouble pre & post match and more so venturing into the unknown. Fast forward several years and today Molineux is true representation of multi-cultural Wolverhampton!”
Blues 4 All are a Birmingham City supporters group, started in July 2015. Their statement goes along the lines of: “Born from a simple idea of bringing communities together whilst supporting a major Championship football club, Blues 4 All is continually striving to voice its message to all parts of England’s wonderfully diverse second city and beyond. By introducing the next generation of young supporters in a safe and fun environment we can ensure the future of both our club and the national game we all love so much whilst encouraging equality and diversity.”
Proud and Palace are another group for LGBT supporters of a top-flight club, this time Crystal Palace. Their website states: “We want to focus on the fact that we are Palace fans first and LGBT second. Our aim is to show football fans that the LGBT community has a presence and a voice in football, and we are just like any other fans (well probably slightly better dressed, more attractive and with devastating wit!). So we will mostly talk about Palace, but in doing so, we will be open about who we are. We will challenge discrimination within football and in particular at CPFC matches but we want to keep the message one of being united by the red and blue, and being part of the CPFC family.” Proud Lilywhites are the Official LGBT Supporters Association of Tottenham Hotspur, formed in 2014 to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender supporters of Spurs.
The final nominees in the category are Fans Supporting Foodbanks, a scheme run by Everton and Liverpool fan groups Everton Supporters Trust and the Spirit of Shankly. Their purpose is slightly different, whilst the other groups are very much about diversity and inclusion in the stadium, the Fans Supporting Foodbanks aims to have a social responsibility outside of the game. They have a green foodbank van which is positioned at every Everton and Liverpool home game, in the Park End fan zone at Goodison Park, and also in the fan zone opposite the Anfield Road End stand at Anfield.
Whichever of these fine organisations win the award is irrelevant in truth, because all of them , L.I.S.A included, do a fine job of promoting equality within the game. Football is moving at an astounding rate, gone are the days of the 1980’s when working class white men kicked shit out of each other every Saturday and the rest of the country scoffed and avoided games. Football is a language the whole world speaks, regardless of colour, creed, nationality, gender or anything else. If you have a football in your hand, you can communicate with anyone on this planet.
That is news, that is where the papers should be focusing their stories. Before you read this today, how many of you knew there was a Fans Supporting Food banks, or a LGBT supporters group at Spurs?
I do apologise if my opinion on the baby-boom story offended anyone, I’m genuinely pleased for the people of Lincoln getting the exposure, but there are plenty of stories in the game today without the Sun or the pR partners creating them. I’ve no doubt many Imps fans felt invigorated to get intimate after the FA Cup games, but in truth if they were as inebriated as I was after Burnley or Ipswich I doubt very much any good came of it!
Good luck to L.I.S.A, remember at this stage winning is not the important thing, merely being recognised for the inclusive work you do amongst such illustrious groups is an achievement in itself and something Lincoln City should be very proud of. Now, how do I get the FSF to look at my blog instead of all those swish ones that got nominated?
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