Organisations gearing up for fans’ summit
FOR many football fans there’s a lot more to supporting a team than just turning up on a Saturday afternoon.
Last week in this column I talked about what supporters give to the game, but if they are going to have a lasting input, they need some decent backing behind them.
There are two well established national supporters’ organisations working on behalf of fans.
The Co-op has strong ties with one, Supporters Direct, which is the umbrella group for 185 supporters’ trusts with a total membership of over 370,000.
It also services a network across more than twenty countries throughout Europe.
Groups are helped to secure an influence in their clubs in different ways, whether it’s full ownership, a seat on the board, or a shareholding in the club (as in the case of our own Co-op.)
But at the very least it means pushing for clubs to be run responsibly and for fans’ concerns to be heard.
The other supporters’ organisation, the Football Supporters’ Federation, has more than 500,000 members, made up of individual fans and members of local supporters’ groups.
It campaigns on many issues on behalf of fans, such as safe standing and ticket prices.
Supporters Direct and the Football Supporters’ Federation will be joining forces later this year to hold a Supporters Summit which will bring fans together to debate some of the game’s major issues.
The arrival of new manager, Neil Young, at Edgeley Park has lifted the mood of the fans and the Co-op board is hoping that a good number of them will want to meet him and hear about his plans for the coming season.
They can do this tomorrow (Thursday) at a meeting jointly arranged by the Co-op and Help the Hatters, starting at 7.30pm at the Bungalow.
Dave Marchbank, the board member responsible for running Co-op events, paid a visit to Robinsons brewery last week, but it was strictly business.
He was there to discuss plans for the Hatters Half Marathon, and the company, as the main commercial sponsor of the race, promised to do all they can to make the day a big success.
And to show that they mean what they say, they will be sending along a couple of their own stars – the popular shire horses, Trooper and Wizard. Full details of the event, to be run on September 6th, are on the website: hattershalf.co.uk.