Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA) funding: FOI release

Information requested

1. Can you confirm whether or not the Scottish Government provides or has provided any funding to the Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA)?

2. If public funding is/has been provided, can you confirm whether or not this is direct funding to the organisation, funding provided through a grant or similar mechanism, or via another organisation (for example, the SFA, Local Councils, Third/Voluntary Sector etc.)?

3. If public funding is/has been provided directly, please can you confirm the total amount provided to the SFSA in each of the last 5 financial years (broken down by year and type of funding)?

4. If public funding is/has been provided via grant, can you confirm the criteria that is required to be met in order to access this funding and can you confirm the SFSA met this criteria?

5. If public funding is/has been provided directly or via an organisation, can you confirm what information the Scottish Government insists on reviewing before deciding whether to fund said organisation and whether the organisation is required to report back on it’s activities to secure futurefunding?

6. Can you confirm how many times representatives of the SFSA have been invited to attend Parliamentary Committees or Sessions to provide evidence over the last 14 years? Please confirm which sessions in which year.

7. Do the Scottish Government provide funding to any other football related organisation(s) and if so, please list the organisations?

Response

1. I can confirm that the Scottish Government has provided funding to the Scottish Football Supporters Association.

2. I can confirm that this funding was direct from the Scottish Government.

3. The Scottish Government has provided the Scottish Football Supporters Association with a grant of £25,000 in 2021/2022 to help football clubs purchase defibrillators.

4. The funding was for a specific use - provide up to 100 Scottish grassroots football clubs with a grant of £250 to assist in the cost of the purchase of defibrillators through a partnership agreement between Scottish Football Supporters Association and British Heart Foundation.

5. Before agreeing to release funds, the Scottish Government needs assurances that the organisation can carry out the project. Organisations are required to report back on their progress with terms for each project being set out in their Grant-In-Aid letter. At the conclusion of projects, organisations are expected to submit a final report. Each funding application is assessed on an individual basis.

6. We do not hold any information on how many times the Scottish Football Supporters Association have been invited to attend Parliamentary Committees or Sessions over the past 14 years. This is due to the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament being separate organisations. This is a formal notification under section 17 of FOISA that there is no information held. However, you may wish to contact the Scottish Parliament directly to ask for the information. The Scottish Parliament can be contacted via foi.officer@parliament.scot who may be able to help you. More information on making a request to the Scottish Parliament can be found here: Requesting information | Scottish Parliament Website

7. The Scottish Government have provided funding to the below list of football related organisations during the past 5 financial years. The list is in alphabetical order,
Aberdeen Football Club
Ayr United Football Academy
Back Football and Recreation Club
Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club
Celtic FC Community Foundation
Celtic Football Club
Dundee United Football Club
Hamilton Academical Football Club
Hibernian Football ClubInverness Caledonian Football Club
Kilmarnock Football Club
Livingston Football Club
Motherwell Football Club
Rangers FC Community Foundation
Rangers Football Club
Ross County Football Club
Scottish Football Association
Scottish Football Association Museum
Scottish Football Partnership
Scottish Football Supporters Association
Scottish Professional Football League
Scottish Professional Football League Trust
Scottish Women's Premier League
Spartans Community Football Association
St Johnstone Football Club
St Mirren Football Club
Street Soccer Scotland
Universal Football Club

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