To our members, active groups, and the Australian football Community,
Over the past fortnight, like many of you, we have watched the policing operations across A-League fixtures in New South Wales with deep frustration and serious concern.
We know many supporters at other clubs around Australia and New Zealand hold similar concerns about excessive actions of police and stadium security.
It is absolutely clear football supporters are presented with a policing and security environment like none other in mainstream Australian sport. And it simply shouldn't be this way.
FSAA welcomes the recent public comments made by Western Sydney Wanderers Chairman, Paul Lederer pushing back on police’s treatment of Wanderers fans and about the need for action.
The FSAA remains in regular discussions with APL leadership regarding matchday operations. It is clear they are just as frustrated about the events of the past few weeks as we are.
However, we are now at the point where reactive reviews and weekly chats with police following regular operational failures on match day are simply insufficient.
In 2025, the FSAA proactively provided recommendations to the APL for structural change when it came to the relationship with and treatment of fans by authorities.
This included establishing systems to prevent the demonising of fans by external stakeholders, establish rapid response protocols and open up the lines of communication between police/security, APL and supporter groups.
While there has been some progress on these matters, recent events prove that we must all do more to protect the game’s largest and arguably most important stakeholder, its supporters.
As per our recommendations and discussions with the APL, the FSAA stands ready to assist in the creation, facilitation, and immediate rollout of programs, panels, and initiatives designed to improve the supporter experience.
This particularly includes increasing communication and engagement between senior APL management, club representatives, active supporter leaders, and external matchday authorities including stadium operators, private security contractors, and state police commands.
While the exact framework of such a structure is yet to be finalised, we view this as an essential step toward restoring trust and protecting our active supporter culture, as well as a vehicle for accountability.
We will also be strongly advocating that supporter groups play an active role in designing such frameworks to ensure matchday standards reflect the reality on the terrace.
It's important to note that such programs should not be designed to replace the independent relationships and existing arrangements built by supporter groups and clubs.
The FSAA remains committed to standing alongside our members, supporter groups, and football communities to proactively find solutions while continuing to represent supporter interests directly to the game's decision-makers.
Yours in football,
Committee
Football Supporters Association Australia (Inc)
