The Supporter Liaison Officer (“SLO”) Role

What is a Supporter Liaison Officer?

The SLO role was the result of detailed talks between UEFA, European football‘s governing body, and Supporters Direct Europe. The discussions led to a requirement from 2012 that those applying for a UEFA licence must have a SLO.

Under UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations Article 45, it states that:

45.01 The licence applicant must have appointed a supporter liaison officer to act as the key contact point for supporters.
45.02 The supporter liaison officer will regularly meet and collaborate with the relevant club personnel on all related matters.

The Scottish FA subsequently introduced the SLO role in the Scottish FA Club Licensing Manual and worked with Supporters Direct Scotland to outline the framework for the role.  

Origins of the role

The role has its roots in Germany, where the first SLO appeared at Borussia Monchengladbach in 1989 in a part-time and volunteer capacity. ln 1992, the German “National Concept Sport and Security” introduced the SLO as part of its concept on how to tackle the hooliganism and violence that surrounded German football in the 1970s and 1980s. The first full-time SLO was employed in 1996, and today all Bundesliga clubs have three full-time SLOs.

In a survey initiated by UEFA in 2007, a majority of the consulted national associations wanted to improve relations between clubs and fans, to enable fans to become “more serious and responsible partners”. To achieve this, UEFA began backing several European supporter organisations, including Supporters Direct Europe and Football Supporters Europe. UEFA also acknowledged that football supporters had been largely ignored in the dialogue surrounding football, but should be considered valued members of the football family. This work led to the introduction of Article 35 in 2012 (Article 45 in the current licensing framework), which required clubs participating in UEFA club competitions to have an appointed SLO.

To ensure we all mean the same thing when we refer to SLOs, we have come up with the following standard definition of their role: a supporter liaison officer is someone who liaises – they are a mediator between the fans and the club, the national association, and the league. The SLO also serves as a link between other parties involved in football, such as the police and stewards. Ideally employed by the club in order to liaise with the fans, the SLO is an advocate of both sides, representing the interests of the club (or national association/league) AND those of the supporters.

Club Licensing

The Scottish FA’s Club Licensing Manual details the SLO criteria for award, those being Gold, Silver, Bronze and Entry.

The Criteria are as follows:

Criteria	Gold / Silver	Bronze / Entry
8.18 Supporter Liaison Officer Refers to the person appointed by the club’s executive body to meet and engage with the relevant club personnel on all related matters.	Individual in role with signed Job Description, contract or SLA. The SLO contact details must be published on the club website. The club must be able to provide evidence of activities carried out by the SLO on a regular basis. It is best practice that the individual should not belong to the senior management of the club. Further guidance on the role is available from Supporters Direct Scotland.	Best Practice