How to start an Official Liverpool Supporters Club in your city

Liverpool has Official LFC Supporters Clubs, OLSCs, in most large US metros, and the reason is simple: the club recognizes branches abroad and lists them, so a Red who moves to Denver can look up where Denver watches. On matchday a branch takes the same pub for every fixture, gets the sound on, sings before kickoff and saves a table for whoever walks in wearing the shirt. This guide covers what the club asks of a new branch, what to have in place first, and how to get found once you are official.

What Liverpool requires

The club publishes guidelines for setting up an Official LFC Supporters Club, and the figures below come from them. The document is labeled for the 2012/13 season and is still the one the club links, so read it yourself and confirm the numbers with the club’s supporters club team before you count anything.

• A minimum of 50 branch members, at least 15 of whom also hold LFC Official Membership. Branch members should live in the region the branch serves.
• Red Level status requires a minimum of 15 LFC Official Members in the branch; Gold Level status requires 50.
• Your members’ LFC Official Membership numbers go to the club as part of the terms of acceptance. Only people who hold an Official Membership count toward the 15 or the 50, so check which membership tiers qualify before you count heads.
• A branch must not be run for personal financial gain. It needs a committee of at least a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer elected by the branch, must hold an Annual General Meeting, and must supply its bank account details to the club on request.
• A branch may charge its own members a subscription, provided the fee is made known to the club on request, each member gets a receipt and the branch documents what the fees are used for. Ticket allocations are not given to branches; official branches use the club’s group booking facility instead.

The guidelines do not state an affiliation fee payable to the club and do not lay out a naming rule. The club’s own OLSC page describes branches that run from 30 members up to 60,000, which sits below the 50 the guidelines ask for; ask the club which figure applies before you count heads.

Before you apply

• A pub that will show every Liverpool match, including 7:30 am Saturday kickoffs and midweek European nights, with the sound on for yours.
• Fifty people who will join the branch, at least fifteen of whom hold or will buy LFC Official Membership and are willing to share their membership numbers with the branch.
• A name. Many US branches use OLSC followed by the city, as in OLSC Philadelphia or OLSC DFW. The club confirms the official name when it approves you, so wait on scarves.
• An Instagram or Facebook account that already shows your pub, your usual routine and a way to message you.
• Two named contacts who answer email. The club deals with one, the pub needs one, and they should not be the same exhausted person.

Getting recognized

1. 1
   Read the guidelines

   The PDF is the rulebook. It covers the branch minimum, the membership levels, the committee, the non-profit requirement and the AGM.
2. 2
   Check the directory

   Find an OLSC lists branches by region, North America included. If your metro has one, join it. If it meets an hour away, say so in your application.
3. 3
   Collect Official Membership numbers

   Fifteen for Red Level inside a branch of at least 50, with each person's agreement to share the number with the club. Keep the list in one place; you will need it again when memberships renew.
4. 4
   Apply through the club

   The guidelines point to an application form on liverpoolfc.com. Start from the OLSC page; if you cannot find the form, use the club’s contact page and ask for the supporters club team.
5. 5
   Keep the membership list matched to the club's

   The club counts your Official Members from the membership numbers you supply. Once you are approved, ask every member to link their Official Membership to the branch and to tell you when it renews, so the club's count of your members matches yours.

After you are official

• Announce it once, everywhere. The pub posts it, you post it, and you tell the nearest other branches so they can send people your way.
• Meet every match. League Cup third round included. A branch that only shows up for the derby is a branch people stop checking.
• Keep the schedule public. Pin the next kickoff in local time and the doors-open time. Post it again the morning of.
• Run it the way the guidelines say. A committee with a chair, secretary and treasurer, an AGM each year, bank account details ready for the club on request, and nothing run for personal gain.
• Ask about Gold Level once you pass 50 Official Members.

List the chapter on SoccerMapd

SoccerMapd’s where-to-watch page for Liverpool lists chapters by metro and links each one, next to the week’s fixtures in local time and the US TV channel where it is announced. A branch that lists itself appears there for its city, on the Liverpool team page and in the supporters club directory. Say plainly on the listing whether you are an Official LFC Supporters Club or a group still applying. Both are welcome, and the fan searching your city wants to know which.

Once listed, ask for the schedule console link and tick the matches you are showing. The supporters club guide walks through it. No account is needed and nothing costs anything.

See Liverpool fans by city