Subject: ‘House of Supporters: the story of the company returning power to the fans’
Dear Sports Journalists/Reporters/Editors,
One of the most contemporary issues at the heart of sport is its increasing inaccessibility to fans…
On face value this claim might seem counterintuitive; television coverage is more prominent now than in any time in history, supporters are kept almost relentlessly ‘in-the-loop’ via social media platforms, and interactivity between player and fan has never been higher. But the ordinary fan – the lifeblood of any club worth its salt – has been left behind. This is why, after months of meticulous research, planning and design, we are brimming with pride to announce the launch of House of Supporters – a free-to-use platform which aims to connect fans and thereby dramatically reduce their travel and accommodation expenditure.
Ticket prices have spiralled out of control in recent years and the hyper-interconnectivity of the internet age means that opportunists, their eyes bulging with imagined riches, have never found it easier to separate fans with their hard-earned cash. As you’ll know, this repugnant phenomenon has been well documented by the media. Last season’s all-English Champions League Final was arguably when the furore peaked; as well as having to cough up for the extortionate ticket prices, fans of both Liverpool and Tottenham who wanted to see their teams in Madrid were forced to pay up to ten times the normal rates for flights and hotels.
House of Supporters aims to eliminate these needless outlays. Through the website – www.houseofsupporters.com – supporters can get in touch with one another to organise carpooling, offer a place to stay and generally extend the proverbial olive branch. As well as being functional in the sense that it allows fans to keep hold of the money which they’d otherwise have dished out for a hotel or a train fare, the website is also a magnificent and unprecedented opportunity to form social relationships which transcend borders and club loyalties.
A great deal of the media’s coverage of sports fans, particularly in relation to football, is negative, focusing on the loathsome behaviour of a loud minority. But, as anyone who has been on an away-day before will tell you, supporters of opposing clubs are generally warm with one another. In House of Supporters, they have a platform to solidify this mutual good-will and use it to help each other out. This is an opportunity to highlight some of the best things fans do, and something we think is a great story.
Sport can sometimes seem like a venue for tribalism and nastiness but, when all is said and done, it serves the noble purpose of bringing people from all walks of life together. You can’t put a price on that. In a world where seemingly everything is monetised, we should be aiming to keep sport as inexpensive as it can possibly be. This is House of Supporters’ mission.
You can set up an account at https://www.houseofsupporters.com/login and see what it’s all about.
Please, if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone who can tell you in more detail about the wonderful work we’re doing, contact_________________.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards,
House of Supporters.
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Subject: ‘House of Supporters: the free-to-use website that’s makes your job easier’
Dear Sports Liaison Officers,
Recent years have seen the relationship between fan and club deteriorate, making your jobs as the go-between for the two groups increasingly difficult. There is a distinct lack of trust between them – this must change.
For fans, nothing is worse than thinking you’re being taken advantage of by the club you love. One of the joys of sport is the feeling that you’re part of something bigger than yourself. As much as sport is about athleticism, perseverance and skill, it’s about community. This is why, after months of meticulous research, planning and design, we are brimming with pride to announce the launch of House of Supporters – a free-to-use platform which aims to connect fans and thereby dramatically reduce their travel and accommodation expenditure.
House of Supporters aims to eliminate these needless outlays. Through the website – www.houseofsupporters.com – supporters can get in touch with one another to organise carpooling, offer a place to stay and generally extend the proverbial olive branch. As well as being functional in the sense that it allows fans to keep hold of the money which they’d otherwise have dished out for a hotel or a train fare, the website is also a magnificent and unprecedented opportunity to form social relationships which transcend borders and club loyalties.
This service will no doubt make your job significantly easier; it brings fans together for away-days and allows them to make their arrangements independently, with no need to rely on a third party such as yourself. As a liaison officer, this will be hugely beneficial for you in terms of reducing the time you spend organising club travel and communicating with both the fans and the club with regards to this. It’ll give you more time focus on the really important stuff: building relationships with the fans, conversing with the police and talking with other club’s SLOs.
By using the website, fans will find making their arrangements a breeze. This can only lead to happier supporters and a better atmosphere around the club, again making your job much easier. In promoting our service, both to the supporters themselves and within the club you work for, you will become part of something which you can really be proud of: a platform which wants to keep sport as inexpensive as possible to the fans which are its life-blood.
We want to make football about the fans again – this is our mission. By getting people to engage with House of Supporters you are signifying your intention of doing the same. As liaison officers, this is your calling.
You can set up an account at https://www.houseofsupporters.com/login and see what it’s all about.
Please, if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone who can tell you in more detail about the wonderful work we’re doing, contact_________________.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards,
House of Supporters.
Subject: ‘House of Supporters: bringing footballing communities together again’
Dear Clubs of Supporters
For fans, nothing is worse than missing out on watching the club you love play. One of the joys of sport is the feeling that you’re part of something bigger than yourself. As much as sport is about athleticism, perseverance and skill, it’s about community. This is why, after months of meticulous research, planning and design, we are brimming with pride to announce the launch of House of Supporters – a free-to-use platform which aims to connect you, the fans, with fans of other clubs, thereby dramatically reducing your travel and accommodation expenditure.
In sport at the moment, there is a perception that the disconnect between fan and club has become greater and more obvious than ever before. In part, this is because of the copious amounts of cash fans are expected to cough up to see their team play. Ordinary supporters – the lifeblood of any club worth its salt – feel like they have been left behind. There is a perception that their team’s hierarchies treat shrinking attendances merely as collateral damage for gargantuan television deals.
Obviously however, this attitude is not sustainable. It’s a cliche but without fans sport really is nothing. Who will want to watch Premier League matches on telly when they’re played in front of an empty stadium? By promoting House of Supporters to your members you will be reassuring fans that football isn’t all about corporatism nowadays – there are some people that still have the supporters’ best interests at heart.
So how does it work? Through the website – http://www.houseofsupporters.com – supporters can contact one another to organise carpooling, offer a place to stay and generally extend the proverbial olive branch. The service is easy to use and will make making travel and accommodation plans a breeze. As well as being functional in the sense that it allows fans to keep hold of the money which they’d otherwise have dished out for a hotel or a train fare, the website is also a magnificent and unprecedented opportunity to form social relationships which transcend borders and club loyalties.
The ease and enjoyablesness of this process will remove the stress from the away-day experience. Wave goodbye to having to organise coach travel for dozens of people, House of Supporters has got it covered. Naturally, fans who’ve had to spend almost nothing apart from the price of their ticket are happier fans. Happy fans make for a better atmosphere. And a better atmosphere makes for better performances by your club – ultimately, what can be better for clubs of supporters than this?
Promoting House of Supporters within your organisation really is a no brainer – it will make your members feel that, even if community-driven side of sport has been lost on the clubs’ behalf, there are still people that are maintaining it.
House of Supporters’ mission is to connect football fans and in doing so connect the communities of the clubs they support. By doing this we want to make football about the fans again, if they see that you want to do the same they’ll no doubt be even more proud to be part of your club; one that cares for its fans, one that bucks the trend and treats them with respect.
You can set up an account at https://www.houseofsupporters.com/login and see what it’s all about.
Please, if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone who can tell you in more detail about the wonderful work we’re doing, contact_________________.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards,
House of Supporters.
Adam Williams - Portfolio 