The Board Has the Floor

At the end of October, there was something to celebrate, as Lower C marked its 30th anniversary as a fan stand. In fact, it was already in the spring of 1995 that the stand was first used as a supporters’ section. However, the anniversary was only officially celebrated during the home match against Viborg FF on Sunday, October 26.

A lot has happened since the move from A2/A3 to the opposite long side, and although activity in the stand has declined over the years, one must not forget that the culture created at Lower C still forms the foundation of the fan culture we see and hear in Parken today. And yes, some of the newer, younger fans may—understandably—feel that the older supporters on Lower C sometimes stand a bit too often with their arms crossed.

But the truth is that they are standing on the shoulders of those who built it all in the 1990s. That was when the foundation was laid, and it is important that we do not forget that part of our shared fan history. Because when Lower C finally comes alive and joins in the chants from Section 12, one is reminded of the immense atmosphere that the old stand can still generate when it truly matters.

The autumn also brought another edition of the world’s biggest club competition. Once again—quite impressively—the team qualified the club for the Champions League for the third time in four years, following strong performances, especially at home against Malmö FF and Basel.

And although, at the time of writing, things have not gone entirely as hoped in the league phase, we as fans must not take these European experiences for granted. The fact that, at the draw, it could be noted that there were “only” 15 clubs out of 35 possible that F.C. Copenhagen had not yet faced tells its own story about how privileged we have been over the past 20 years.

After the women’s superb promotion in the summer, tougher opposition awaited in the B league, following an unbeaten run through what is now called the C league. The talented women have, however, continued where they left off and, at the time of writing, remain unbeaten after 10 matches. That is nothing short of impressive.

With the expansion of the A league from the 2026/2027 season—where two additional teams will be promoted—it means that a total of four teams will move up to the A league. This makes the outlook very promising in terms of the dream that F.C. Copenhagen’s women’s team could already be represented in Denmark’s top division next season. It is an exciting development, and at FCKFC we are, of course, doing everything we can to support it. We have continued our regular fan stand in Vanløse, where we are present at every home match.

This year’s Superliga season also introduced a new team in the form of FC Fredericia. It is always exciting to face new opponents and visit new stadiums. Traveling across Europe and experiencing the big stadiums is fantastic, but it can be just as charming to visit the smaller venues here at home—those towns where everything turns upside down when the big clubs come to visit.

Over time, we have visited many smaller stadiums across Denmark, especially in connection with cup matches, and met many smiling volunteers at the stands who do everything they can to keep up. It is understandable that it can be a challenge to adapt to hosting large groups of away fans, but precisely for that reason, it is even more important to take responsibility for the setup and ensure that everyone has a proper experience.

As many may know, the summer match in Fredericia unfortunately became an example of the opposite. The new away section at Monjasa Park was clearly approved for far too many spectators, as the large platform behind the rows had been included in the capacity. This resulted in people standing in several layers behind the seating rows, and many had to follow the match on their phones, as they could otherwise only see the backs of those standing in front of them. Unfortunately, several also ended up leaving the stadium after giving up on watching the match altogether.

This is simply not acceptable. Therefore, FCKFC made the extraordinary decision to refund members who had traveled with us to the match. At the same time, we recommended that everyone with a bad experience submit an official complaint to Danish Football Supporters (DFF)—something more than 120 fans did. In addition, we ourselves submitted an official complaint to FC Fredericia, but unfortunately had to conclude that the club did not wish to engage in dialogue.

As they neither acknowledged receipt nor responded to our inquiries, we chose a somewhat unconventional route and filed a complaint with the Consumer Complaints Board. In our view, as an organizer, you cannot oversell a section while knowing that many will not receive the product they paid for. Apparently, they have reached the same conclusion themselves, as they have since limited the number of away tickets for subsequent matches.

Unfortunately, the case has been dismissed, as it is not possible to file such a complaint through the Consumer Complaints Board as an association. However, this does not mean we are giving up, as we still consider it a matter of principle. Moreover, we find it completely unacceptable to ignore an inquiry from an official supporters’ club in that way.

The autumn also brought yet another legislative package from the Ministry of Justice, aimed at curbing the football-related violence we have unfortunately seen too much of in recent years. As a starting point, we welcome measures that can stop senseless violence, but we are also concerned about some of the tools proposed in the presented legislation.

In particular, the part where one can receive a mark on their criminal record before their case has been processed by the courts opens the door to the risk that innocent people may be punished before their case is decided. This could result in losing both employment and season tickets while awaiting a final verdict, which we find extremely problematic.

Additionally, we believe that conflating pyrotechnics with hooliganism muddies the picture and may unfairly label many football fans who would never dream of participating in violent riots.

There is no doubt that pyrotechnics can be used in ways that are dangerous to others, and that it can be harmful if used as projectiles. In such cases, no one can disagree that punishment should be consistent and severe. However, we advocate for a broader categorization of fans—both to better understand what motivates them and to avoid pushing fans into violent environments simply because they are labeled as potential hooligans based solely on their views on pyrotechnics.

To end on a more positive note, autumn 2025 also marked the launch of our new supporters’ club stand at Upper C. It has long been a major wish for us to be represented at Upper C, as we believe it has long been an overlooked fan section in Parken. For that reason, we greatly enjoy being present there, having good conversations with the many fans seated in that area, and we hope they also appreciate the opportunity to get closer to us as a board, as well as the chance to purchase merchandise on match days.

We would like to thank you for the past year and wish all F.C. Copenhagen supporters a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The board looks forward to kicking off 2026, which we hope will once again bring a strong spring so that we can compete for yet another championship for the capital.

See you in the stands!
Christian H, Casper, Ninni, Mie, Kim, Lily, and Christian T