In the last few hours, Sporting transferred two documents to the Federation of Peñas Sportinguistas and Unipes where it proposes very important structural changes for its supporters clubs that, if they go ahead, will mark a before and after in the relationship between the club and these groups. The social area has used as a guide to restructure the relationship with the supporters clubs the way they work with their collective clubs such as Real Sociedad or Athletic, with similar philosophies, all very connected with their fans. One of the documents, the most important due to the changes that are taking place, is a very orderly regulation that these groups must comply with in order for them to be considered official supporters club for the club.
The groups now have about two weeks to present their proposals. Afterwards, all of them (the close to 120 in the sportinguista world) must adjust to the new parameters, whenever they want to have that “official” consideration. Sporting establishes a series of mandatory rules, it also grants the supporters clubs advantages and rights and another series of rules for celebrations and protocol acts. Regarding the requirements for the recognition of an official supporters club, the club wants these organizations to have a very significant percentage of subscribers. One of the most important is, in fact, that each club (it does not have to be part of the Federation or Unipes) has a certain percentage of subscribers. Which? Well, it depends on two conditions: location and number of supporters.
For example, one from Gijón would have the obligation to have more subscribers than another from Madrid, due to the difficulties of these followers to go to El Molinón. The more peñistas, the percentage of subscribers that is required is reduced. The clubs will also have to have a census and that it be updated every year. And show civic behavior when they represent the club on their travels. If Sporting’s values are not respected or they advocate racism or xenophobia, they will be expelled.
The entity proposes in this document a series of rights or advantages for being considered an official supporters club. One, have permission from the club to use emblems and merchandising products. Another, have access to discounts on tickets in some of the special promotions launched by the entity, such as Three Kings Day. They would also have priority for the children’s photos that the players take with the smallest fans before each game at El Molinón. Or discounts in the official stores of the club and in the Museum. The document raises a third section: celebrations acts and protocol. This is where the most important changes occur. The sending of representatives of the rojiblanco club to acts of the supporters clubs will be scheduled and ordered. There will be two models. In the type “A” executives, leaders, and even players will attend. These representatives will attend exclusively to inauguration acts, tenth anniversary, twenty-fifth anniversary, thirty anniversary, forty… In other words, there will only be type “A” representation at very designated times, every ten years. There is another possibility in that the clubs have representatives more frequently, every five years. It would be every five years (fifth anniversary, fifteen…). The clubs could request that members of the veterans’ association attend, but without them being part of the club.
In addition to this first document, the Sporting social area forwarded to the Federation of Sportinguista Supporters Clubs and Unipes another document, in draft form, with the new collaboration agreement between the rojiblanco club and these organizations. The club intends to go hand in hand with these groups to organize very specific events. Some of a social nature. Also other events related to sportingism. In this sense, the new department, in addition to proposing the creation of the “Sportinguista Legacy” with initiatives that serve to disseminate the history of the entity, proposes to create a kind of “Sportinguismo Day”. In addition to the fact that it could cover the two meetings for its associates on an annual basis that, separately, are organized by Unipes and the Federation of Peñas Sportinguistas, all season ticket holders who wish to attend would also be invited. It would, therefore, be a more global act for the entire sportinguista universe. This act would have representatives of the rojiblanco club, although the creation of this event is still in a very initial phase, pending new conversations before setting a date and time.
