Dear All,
The events of the last few weeks have been very traumatic for all those who consider themselves fans of Derry City FC. Leaving aside the recent contract issues,the revelation that the club is in debt of over £500,000, the future of the club is far from certain.
It will require a huge effort from a large number of people in the coming weeks and months to attempt to ensure that this club is playing senior football in 2010.
Given the dynamic nature of events and the uncertain financial future of the club at this time, it seems the correct moment to invite supporters to join the Derry City Supporters Trust. The Trust has been formally registered as an Industrial and Providential Society under Industrial and Provident Societies Acts (NI) 1969 and 1976, Company Number IP393.
A Supporters Trust is not a Supporters Club under another name, and it aims to provide a real voice for supporters in the future direction of the club.
Some of the headline achievements of Supporters Trust in the UK.
- Growth: Supporters’ trusts have now been established at over 160 clubs.
- Membership: Over 120,000 people are members of supporters’ trusts.
- Finance: Supporters’ trusts have now brought in well over £25 million of new finance into football and rugby league.
- Ownership: 15 clubs are in ownership or control by supporters trusts.
- Partnership: Over 110 supporters’ trusts now have shareholdings in their clubs.
- Boardroom: Nearly 60 supporters’ trusts have directors at their clubs. Over 50% of these are directly elected by the membership of the trust.
- Reach: Supporters of nearly 70% of clubs in the top five divisions of football in England, and the top four divisions in Scotland have established supporters’ trusts.
- Community: Reorientating clubs to deliver active community engagement.
What is a Supporters Trust?
For those that may be wondering what a Trust is, we advise that you take a few moments to read the FAQ at this link
Why a Trust at Derry City?
The events of recent weeks have shown some of the reasons why a Trust may be useful at Derry City. Amongst the uses, it can help to ensure that supporters have an organised structure to articulate their views and to influence the direction of the club.
The ground work for the Trust was completed last year, when a launch meeting was held and the group was formally registered as an I&PS.
At that time, those involved believed that the Trust may help to re-orientate the club with the community and deepen our links in this area. The Trust working group were involved in a few projects such as merchandise ideas. However the Trust went into cold storage when many of those involved in the establishment moved away for work, and there wasn’t sufficient appetite to keep the organisation active.
Given recent events, a large number of supporters have expressed an interest in the idea of a Trust at the club. A group of interested parties met with the previous working group over the weekend and it was agreed to open membership of Trust and to get the group up and running. A working group has convened to push the Trust forward and to ensur javascript"> e that the voice of the supporter is clearly held in what is sure to be a developing situation in the coming weeks.
What now?
We encourage anyone interested to spend some time reading the Supporters Direct website. SD is the governing body for the Supporters Trusts in the UK and there is a wealth of information on their website, Supporters Direct
If you would like to join the Trust, membership is now open. Membership will run until 31/12/2010.
Members can now join online via the Trust website or for those that prefer to pay by cheque/cash/postal order, paper based membership forms are also available.
What then?
The strength of any Trust is the members. The direction of the Trust and the decisions it takes are decided by the members. Volunteers are required to assist the Working Group and in time to stand for the Trust Board.
The Working Group hope to hold an open meeting in the near future and to formalise the structure of a Trust Board etc. However given the need to ensure that the supporters voice is heard, membership is now open.
Remember
Derry City Supporters Trust: Your Club, Your Community, Your Voice
