AS Saint-Etienne : “The supporters embody the identity and values ​​of the club” | ASSE News

How does the club from Stéphane manage its relations with supporters’ groups on a daily basis? Aware of the key role played by green supporters in the life of the club, the management of ASSE has worked in recent years to establish a permanent dialogue with the various associations of supporters in order to listen to their requests and demands and access it as much as possible. During an interview with Ecofoot, Samuel Rustem, Deputy General Manager of ASSE in charge of sports activities, explains to us how issues related to supporterism are taken into account in the overall functioning of the club from Stéphane.

Fans occupy an important place in a popular club like AS Saint-Etienne. How does the club manage daily files related to supporterism? Is there a department dedicated to such missions? Does the club’s referent supporters regularly meet ASSE supporters associations?

Supporters associations occupy a very important place. They embody the identity and values ​​of the club. Relations are now managed by the Operations Service, one of the three services that I manage.

Operationally, this service relies in particular on an operations manager, a director of safety and security and a supporters referent. The latter, Florian Merle, who arrived in March 2018, is responsible in particular, and on a daily basis, for relations with our five official groups of supporters.

All subjects are dealt with transparently. Of course, we do not necessarily have the same vision as our supporters on certain subjects. But, despite our differences, the relationship remains healthy and respectful. It’s also an important goal for us.

In 2013, when I arrived, President Roland Romeyer notably entrusted me with the mission of creating this relationship of trust, loyalty and frankness: three human values ​​that are close to his heart and that he wanted to transmit.

Today, we are ensuring that our relationships with supporters always fall within this framework. This mode of operation was established with the “elders” of the different groups seven years ago and must survive possible changes in people and organization.

In the exercise of your missions, do you have exchanges with bodies responsible for representing supportism in France and in Europe like the ANS? Does the LFP provide support to professional clubs in setting up a dialogue with supporter groups?

“ASSE supporters embody the identity and values ​​of the club”