Soccer Laduma Blog By Clint Roper

Let me introduce you to a world first – Soccer Laduma's Supporters Club.   What exactly is it and how does it work? Well, Soccer Laduma and our readers have been in a partnership since the beginning. This is just our way of formalising it. In a nutshell, Supporters Club allows you to build, change and mould the way your soccer content is served to you. Each and every day you will be able to speak directly to the platform editors at Soccer Laduma and inform them about the changes you would like to see and the stories you would like to hear about.   This is Soccer Laduma holding out a hand, saying, "Please, take it and lead us where you want us to go." It's us saying to you that we want a closer relationship with you, our readers.   Through this relationship we can grow Soccer Laduma so that you will have the power to tell retailers and service providers in this country how you want to be spoken to and how you want to be marketed to. You will also be able to tell South African soccer what your expectations are and then affect those changes. There is power in numbers and the stronger this relationship is, the more powerful we become.   In the beginning, when there was very little money in South African soccer, the game and the supporter co-existed. Players, managers, coaches and fans were all on the same socio-economic standing so the supporters' voice was strong and powerful.   Supporters could speak directly to their club bosses, coaches and players and their opinions were not taken lightly as they were seen as the lifeblood of the game. Without them, there was no audience therefore there could be no game.   Sponsors saw the passion and the huge number of soccer lovers in the country and identified soccer as a great way to 'speak' to them directly. Quite obviously, the supporter and the game were one. However, with more money flowing into club coffers through sponsorship and commercial deals, the gap between the supporters and their clubs grew bigger and bigger. The very reason that sponsorship money flowed into the game – because of the supporter – was ironically the very reason clubs began moving the game further and further away from the supporter.   Today, this has happened to such an extent that now there is a veritable chasm between professional football and the fan, so much so that the supporters voices do not carry to the clubs, the players, the league, SAFA or the government. There is no platform for supporters to affect the game in a positive way.   This situation has to be remedied and one of the ways it can be remedied is through the Soccer Laduma Supporters Club.   The Supporters Club gives South African soccer supporters their voice back. It makes them the focal point of South African soccer. It makes them the lifeblood of the game once again.   There are so many big players in this game – the PSL, SAFA, government, sponsors – but we all want the same thing: a healthy soccer culture and an environment that allows us to shine and all of us to benefit from our passion for the game.    The Soccer Laduma Supporters Club will empower you to make this happen. Sign up on www.snl24.com/soccerladuma and, together with your fellow supporters and Soccer Laduma's community of readers, create a vehicle for change.    I know that, of the three million of you that read this publication each and every week, many of you have never been on the Soccer Laduma website and have no idea of the world you are missing out on. If the Soccer Laduma newspaper is your breath of fresh air once a week, then www.snl24.com/soccerladuma should be the daily bread that feeds your hunger for fresh soccer news and real-time engagement each and every day.    Sign up today and I promise you that, on a daily basis, the entire Soccer Laduma team and I will be engaging with you in the Supporters Club about the changes you want to see in South African soccer, in your paper, on your website and in the game itself.   This is your space and only you can give it power.   Let's do this, together!   Shapa, Clint