By The Longsider
January 16 2004

'The Longsider' talks to York City Supporter’s Trust. With the recent announcement that a Burnley FC Supporter’s Trust is on the horizon, ‘The Longsider’ felt it would be worthwhile to get the views of some people who had been through the process

of setting up and operating a Trust themselves – the supporters of York City FC. Although that trust was set up for slightly different reasons than ours and undoubtedly in tougher financial circumstances, Ian Hey’s information makes interesting reading for all clarets.

What forced the York Supporter's Trust to be founded?

On 21st December 2001, the Directors of Bootham Crescent Holdings plc (BCH) announced that York City FC (the club) was for sale. Under the Chairmanship of Douglas Craig the club had the lowest reported income and one of the highest wage bills. At best the club had been run poorly, others described it as "deliberately destructive."

In just two seasons (1999-2001) the Club lost £2.5m. York City was not however just a struggling small club. A bombshell announcement a few weeks later by BCH announced an intention to sell the ground for housing development and resign from the Football League. An estimated value for the ground for development was £4m.

In late December the local newspaper (the Evening Press) helped to kick off the “Save City Campaign” and arranged a meeting of a small group of fans. With the help of the Press and Supporters' Direct, that small group of fans organised a public meeting on Monday 7 January 2002 to launch the idea of a York City Supporters' Trust ("YCST" or "the Trust").

“A rallying call to support the City”

Over 300 people packed the venue on 7 January - and unfortunately 150 were unable to squeeze in. The meeting was very positive and focused on working to ensure the survival of York City. As well as the emotional attachment for the fans, the importance of saving the Club from extinction and how a Trust could help this was set out.

At the meeting, the motion 'Should there be a York City Supporters' Trust?' was passed unanimously.

The ownership of Bootham Crescent had been transferred from the Club to a new holding company (i.e. BCH) just a couple of years earlier. This restructuring provided the basis for the directors of BCH to carry out their plans at the expense of the Club, its supporters and the community. In addition, the directors of BCH threatened to resign the Club from the League if a new owner was not found by the end of March 2002.

The York City Supporters' Trust was launched on 1 February 2002 at a Launch night in The Barbican. Through commitment and solid organisation, the YCST was formed quicker than any other trust in this country (just 25 days since the idea to have a YCST).

We set out the Trust's vision for a club which: embraces its relationships with the supporters; is at the heart of the community; works together with schools and the Council; provides leadership on issues like racism and drug abuse; benefits, and benefits from, local business.

At the meeting we emphasised that a stronger club helps strengthen the community of York. With the involvement of the Trust, the new York City would be there for future generations. The event was hosted by Jon Champion (ITV football commentator and City fan). The meeting was widely advertised and the businesses and community of York was encouraged to show its support for the Trust. The evening was supported by a host of former City stars.

Almost 1,000 people turned up and, according to Supporters' Direct, this was the best attended turnout for any trust launch relative to the fan base. The night was widely acclaimed as a massive success and some of the headlines read 'Fans on song to herald rescue of club', 'Fantastic night of the stars', 'Supporters Trust breathes new life into York City', and' Thumbs up for the Trust'.

The legal entity created was an Industrial and Provident Society. In general terms, our rules state that we will strengthen the bonds between our club and the community, and promote football in our area regardless of the sex or ethnic origin of those involved. We are a not-for-profit organisation.

Annual membership is only £10 and life membership £100. We wanted the rates to be relatively low so as to be more affordable for more people. We formed a relationship with the committee that organises the junior supporters section in relation to the Club (the Youth Development Fund) and Junior Reds became affiliated members of the YCST.

Membership was widely advertised, including a membership form in the local paper. We wanted to get as many members as possible and promoted membership to the wider community than just the hardcore York City fans. Democratic principles, openness and inclusiveness were to be the cornerstones of the newly formed YCST.

As at 30 June 2002 we had 1,422 full members. This includes over 170 life members. Adding to that approximately 300 affiliated junior members gives a total membership of about over 1,700. Compared to an average home support in recent years of around 2,500, that is a ratio of over two-thirds. We believe we are one of the best supported Trusts in the country, which is even more impressive relative to our supporter base. We are representative of the supporters and the wider community.

During January and February 2002, the Trust played an increasingly pivotal role within the negotiations to save the Club. Trust representatives held many meetings and discussions with local business people, developers, City of York Council, the Board of BCH and potential investors. This work was aimed at securing the future of the Club and representation for supporters in its future ownership and operation.

However York City Supporters Trust has a view this is no longer fantasy football this is reality football. The first thing we did was a cash flow forecast using sensible cost and income structures going forward where costs have to be kept with set parameters based upon Income. This was used in support of a bid. Once the Administrator became aware that we were the only serious players further work was carried out on all other aspects and the fund raising began almost in panic.

We had to raise £200,000 within 3 weeks.

Would you agree that a Supporter's Trust is usually created when a club is in dire financial trouble or can it have longer term benefits?

It is clear that there is greater motivation when a Trust is launched when a club is in a financial crisis but that is not a universal reason. There are currently over 100 supporters trusts involved in football clubs at all levels of the game from the Premiership down to leagues below the Conference. Indeed there is an independent supporter’s trust at Manchester United and that has not been formed as a result of any financial crisis. I know Grimsby also have a supporters trust because I recently fielded an enquiry for them about elections and I don't think they were formed as a result of any financial crisis.

The reasons behind formation of Trusts is often to form one voice with a view to influencing what happens in the football club that affects the general body of supporters. I know for example at Man Utd they have made representations about ticket pricing, European Ties and the treatment of fans abroad and changing Kick Off times to meet TV schedules. Many are formed to achieve supporter representation on the board at football clubs.

Trusts are democratic bodies with one member one vote and are usually contemporary to existing Supporters Clubs. You can find more details about the role of Trusts in Football by visiting the Supporters Direct web-site.

How does the York Trust operate: who represents the fans and are they elected for example?

All Trust board members are elected by vote. The elections in our case are supervised by the Electoral Reform Society. We have 12 elected members with up to 4 co-opted board members. There is a rolling programme for re-election 4 members stand down each year and can then apply to be re-elected. Any member of the trust can be nominated for election. Requirements for nominations elections etc are down to individual trusts although Supporters Direct have a set of specimen rules that can be adopted and amended to suit individual trust purposes.

What concrete results have the York trust had?

As detailed above our single biggest achievement is that we now own the majority of shares in York City Football Club and the football club is now run by the Trust. As they say in the advert "We liked the club so much we bought it!"

What advice would you have for supporter's considering one for Burnley FC?

In my opinion the role of Supporters Trusts will become increasingly important. They put forward a means by which the fans of any football club can have a real influence on the way their football club is run. I believe that in the future all clubs will embrace the role of the Supporters Trust in some shape or form some will be more influential than others but it is clear that outside the Premiership this role is pivotal to the continued existence of many clubs. There are a number of Trusts that now control their own club and I'm thinking here of Exeter and Lincoln as being other examples.

My view would be to go for it. Motivate and work towards achieving supporter representation at the Club. After all, any club that fails to take into account the views of a democratically elected representative of its "best customers" will struggle in the future.

We can only thank Ian Hey for his time in replying to our answers. If you want to read the FULL version of his transcript with the full history of the battle to save York City – it will be placed on the “Supporter’s Trust” section.

Why not visit York City FC Supporter's Trust.

END.