Supporters' trust

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In British sports, a Supporters' Trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen their influence over the running of the club they support.

With Government and with cross-party support, Supporters Direct was established to encourage the formation of supporters' trusts to promote democratic supporter ownership. Supporters Direct encourages the formation of supporters trusts as Industrial and Provident Societies (IPSs), and assists with their formation, legal and start-up costs.

There are over a hundred Supporters’ Trusts across England, Wales and Scotland and the majority of these are affiliated to football clubs, however trusts also exist for Rugby league and Rugby Union.

Supporters' trusts were commonly founded in response to a financial crisis which threatens the future of a team, as was the case at Chesterfield, Lincoln and York. Supporters’ Trust involvement has reportedly ensured the survival of over 20 different clubs entering into administration - particularly during the period of crisis as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital. Supporters' trusts are now more commonly founded in order to increase influence at clubs through a financial stake in the club.

The first trust established was at Northampton Town F.C. in January 1992. The largest is the Manchester United Supporters Trust, which used to be known as Shareholders United, and currently has around 30,000 members. There are other large trusts such as Reading, Spurs and Rangers in Scotland, which have between 3,000 and 4,500 members.

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[edit] Methods for influencing clubs

The main objective of a Supporters' Trust is to provide a vehicle for fans to influence the running of their club. This is achieved by a number of different strategies, including gaining control by fundraising to finance the acquisition of shares in the club or direct board representation.

[edit] Club ownership

The most effective method of influencing the running of a club is club ownership. More than 60 supporters' trusts currently hold equity within their football clubs while Supporters' Trusts have outright or majority ownership or control at 5 Football League and 11 non-league clubs. These are as follows:

League clubs:

Non-League clubs:

[edit] Board representation

Over 40 Football clubs currently have supporter representation within the boards of their football clubs, such as the Lincoln City Supporters' Trust at Lincoln City F.C.

[edit] Supporters Trusts in other sports

The following are Rugby Union supporters trusts currently in the UK: -

[edit] See also

[edit] External links