Fans Supporting Foodbanks is a joint initiative between rival Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C. supporters, founded in 2015 to tackle food poverty in Liverpool. It provides a quarter of all food donations to north Liverpool food banks and has helped to develop a network of fan-driven food banks across the UK. It is an example of progressive football fan activism.
History
Fans Supporting Foodbanks is a partnership between Everton Supporters' Trust and Spirit of Shankly supporters' union. It was founded in 2015 by Liverpool fan Ian Byrne and Everton fans Dave Kelly and Robbie Daniels in response to rising food poverty linked to the programme of austerity implemented by the UK government from 2010. Taking inspiration from Celtic F.C. fan group The Green Brigade, Fans Supporting Foodbanks started collecting food donations in wheelie-bins outside pubs on matchdays. Both Liverpool and Everton football clubs have shown strong support for the initiative. As well as holding collections at home games, Fans Supporting Foodbanks bring food to donate to rival fans' foodbanks during away fixtures, as a show of solidarity. The group's motto is: "Hunger doesn't wear club colours." In 2018, Liverpool Football Club's CEO, Peter Moore, donated a vehicle through his foundation. Fans Supporting Foodbanks’ purple van is used to transport food donations from across the city and can be found outside Anfield and Goodison on matchdays. In 2018, Liverpool podcast and fanzine The Anfield Wrap commissioned a mural of Liverpool F.C.'s Trent Alexander-Arnold, created by French graffiti artist Akse, dedicated to Fans Supporting Foodbanks. The mural can be found on Sybil Road near the Anfield Stadium. Ahead of the 2019 General Election, Fans Supporting Foodbanks co-founder Ian Byrne was selected as the Labour's candidate for Liverpool West Derby. On 12 December 2019, Byrne was elected with 77.6% of the vote.
Work
Countering the far-right
Fans Supporting Foodbanks consider their work as a response to football fan groups with links to the far-right, such as the Football Lads Alliance. The group partners with religious and ethnic minority groups to organise joint collections and events with the aim of breaking down barriers between communities. In 2018, Fans Supporting Foodbanks invited football fans to screenings of World Cup games at the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque. Journalist Ash Sarkar wrote in the Guardian: "This endeavour shows that football doesn’t have to be the domain of racists and Islamophobes, and that mosques aren’t some culturally alien and terrifying enclave. By addressing the immediate economic conditions of the neighbourhoods around them, anti-racist activists can bring together seemingly opposed communities and close down the gaps where the far right are able to organise."
