Welcome to the new Cardiff City Trust website.

The Supporters’ Trust’s constitution has seven main objectives, which are:

i) To enter into and maintain a regular and meaningful dialogue with the Club;

ii) To encourage the Club to take a proper account of its supporters and the community it serves in its decision-making process;

iii) To strengthen the bond between the Club, its supporters and the South Wales community, and to represent the interests of the supporters and the community in the running of the Club;

iv) To encourage and promote the principle of supporter representation on the Club’s board of directors;

v) To purchase and hold a significant shareholding in the Club;

vi) To develop links with the supporters of other football clubs in furtherance of the enjoyment of the game for fans of all ages;

vii) To promote a positive image of the Club and its supporters to the media, the local community and the general public, thereby reinforcing the Club’s identity and increasing its support.

Although plenty of excellent work has already been done in relation to the Trust’s attempts to get the club and the local community to interact more regularly, and plenty of work has been undertaken on various other issues such as the Fred Keenor Memorial Campaign, the organisation’s main role at this juncture is to give the fans a voice, both at the club and within the local and national media.

Some examples: when the initial plans for the new stadium were drawn up, many fans expressed concerns about the positioning of the Family Stand. The Trust raised those concerns during several meetings with the club and the plans were subsequently altered.

When the ticket prices for last year’s pre-season friendlies were announced, many fans expressed outrage at what they regarded as the extortionate costs. The Trust raised concerns about the prices in the local press and entered into discussions with the club about the issue. The prices were dropped after a joint deputation from the Trust and the Supporters’ Club met with club officials in the Ninian Park boardroom.

During several meetings with club officials, the Trust complained strongly that interest-free credit options were not available for fans who were purchasing 2010/11 season tickets. After the matter was again brought up during a public meeting by former Trust Chairman Paul Corkrey, the club announced they were going to give an interest-free credit option after all.

In recent months, the Trust’s reps have met with club officials on several occasions and it is the Trust the media has generally been turning to for opinions regarding the present situation from the fans’ perspective. Over the last few weeks alone, Trust reps have given countless interviews to TV, radio and newspaper journalists, both local and national. Indeed, more quotes from Trust finance expert Keith Morgan appeared in today’s South Wales Echo during a two-page piece about the club’s financial future.

Of course, with a membership of between 850 and 900 at present, it is proving difficult for the Trust to have any major influence on the current situation. However, the club are very definitely taking the Trust seriously, as evidenced by the fact that three of our reps were called into a meeting with the Chairman and a couple of his colleagues only last week.

Despite already having won a few minor short-term victories for the fans of CCFC, the Trust is very definitely a long-term project. The more people who either join or get actively involved in it, the more influence it will have and the louder the fans’ voices will become.

Feedback on the website is welcome and encouraged and can be sent to m4morris@clara.co.uk. Your ideas for content and suggestions on ways to improve the website will be greatly apreciated.