Gary McAllister helps launch first Scottish independent football supporters' group

An independent football supporters' organisation hoping to "reclaim the game" for fans in Scotland has been launched with the help of former national captain Gary McAllister.

The Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) is a new, not-for profit body hoping to include fans from every club in the Scottish league.

Until now, Scotland had been the only footballing nation in Europe not to have their own independent fans' body.

The SFSA hopes to be a "focal point" for any organisation to hear the views of Scottish supporters. It has already received 40,000 pledges of support prior to its official launch and is hoping to attract 100,000 supporters in the near future.

McAllister, who was capped 57 times for Scotland during his career, was named the SFSA's first ambassador.

He said: "Supporters have always been at the heart of the game and having an independent voice that offers a valuable contribution to the game in Scotland is something that I am delighted to support."

The SFSA will also include a national advisory group with experts on football and governance matters. These include former first minister Henry McLeish, who wrote a major review of the future of Scottish football in 2010, and Maureen McGonigle, founder of Scottish Women in Sport and former executive of Scottish Women's Football.

They will work with a club advisory group which so far includes fans from teams such as Aberdeen, Celtic, Dumbarton, Hearts and Rangers.

McLeish said: "Football fans and supporters are the life blood of the game. We need to make sure that there is always a constructive dialogue with the fans so their wishes and aspirations can be heard and acted upon.

"Football works best when it works together. Over the next decade there are real challenges facing the Scottish game but also real opportunities to build on the work that is already being done by the SPFL clubs, the SFA and the vast number of clubs and players in every part of Scotland.

"We also need to broaden the fan base and attract new fans and supporters. The live game matters and I am sure the new organisation being set up today will help grow the game and make a positive contribution to a bigger and more successful future."

Paul Goodwin from the SFSA said: "The role that supporters play in the game is undoubtedly greater than ever before but there are still aspects of the game that they have strong views and believe they should have a greater say in.

"Ticket pricing, fixture scheduling and the commercial success of the game are only a few topics that continually come up in fan conversations but we know that are others too and we want to work closely with the current footballing authorities to ensure fans are involved in the decisions being made that impact on our game."

He added: "In England the Football Supporters Federation has 500,000 members and, across Europe, the Football Supporters Europe network includes independent supporters groups from 45 countries but not from Scotland. We firmly believe that a nation like Scotland should be part of that powerful group.

"The SFSA's agenda will be developed and extended through 'crowdsourcing' meetings where supporters themselves define a vision of the game and hammer out what needs to change and what the priorities are for bringing about that change. This will of course be a continually evolving agenda as the game progresses but it will have the aims of football fans at its heart at all times."