Football Fans Census

Infobox Company
name = Football Fans Census
company_
type = Private Limited Company
foundation = 2002
location_city = London
location_country = England
key_people =
area_served =
industry = Market Research
products =
services =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent = Football Fans Central Ltd
slogan =
homepage = [http://www.footballfanscensus.com footballfanscensus.com]
intl = yes

Football Fans Census is the trading name of Football Fans Central Ltd, a small [ [http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ffa9a467719cfacb89053e49077bd052/compdetails WebCHeck - Select and Access Company Information ] ] market research company which specialises in research into the views and opinions of English football supporters. When the free-to-air digital sports channel ITV Digital collapsed in 2002; it reportedly owed £178.5m to Football League clubs. Two football fans began a campaign for ITV Digital's parent entities, the regional ITV companies Granada Television and Carlton Television to repay this money to the clubs. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/archive/columns/2002/0512/20020512featcollins.html ESPN.com Soccernet Column by Patrick Collins: Bonnie and Clyde face lesson in commercial sense ] ] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2002/03/20/sfntv21.xml League concern over potential loss of TV cash - Football News - Telegraph ] ]

The campaign, under the name Football Fans Union, took the form of a protest against the companies resulting in the 'Can the Commercials' petition and direct action [ [http://www.footballfanscensus.com/itv/index.html Football Fans Union ] ] . The group asked football fans to boycott ITV's World Cup 2002 coverage, and in particular to switch channels during advertisements; so that advertisers would bring pressure on ITV and impact on the companies' advertising revenues [ [http://www.footballfanscensus.com/itv/campaign/faq.html Football Fans Union ] ] .

The fans' campaign ran alongside legal action by the Football League; but it proved to be unsuccessful when the Court of Appeal threw out the Football League's action in 2006 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5109254.stm BBC NEWS | UK | Football League loses damages bid ] ] .

The impetus created by this campaign led to the Football Fans Union developing into the Football Fans Census; and a desire to be a voice for football supporters through online surveys and opinion polls.

Past surveys include:

* the return of terraces [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/solpda/ukfs_sport/hi/newsid_6444000/6444083.stm BBC Sport | Sport Homepage | Football | Calls grow for return of terraces ] ]
* the quality of food at games [ [http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2005/9/10/88290.html Fans pan U's food ] ]
* the cost of following a football team [ [http://uk.virginmoney.com/newscentre/press-releases/2007/football-fans-go-into-extra-time.html Football fans go into extra time ] ]
* the state of English football [http://www.givemefootball.com/display.cfm?article=7360&type=1|title=News] [ [http://www.marketresearch.com/vendors/viewvendor.asp?g=1&VendorID=2712 Football Fans Central Limited Research Reports ] ]

References