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Government threatens legislation unless Football reforms itself

Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust has welcomed the UK Government’s latest response to the Parliamentary inquiry into Football Governance.

The UK Sport Minister, Hugh Robertso,n says there has been slow progress in what he calls ‘much needed’ reform of the game and that unless there is significant progress before the start of next season he will bring in legislation.

The government agrees with Supporters Direct that there are three key areas where we need to see change:

The licensing system for club
The introduction of representative and balanced Boards at clubs.
Improved supporter engagement at club level.

Trust Chair, Tim Hartley, said: “This letter shows the success of the Trust movement’s lobby for football to stop dragging its feet and reform itself. Of particular interest to City fans will be the Minister’s insistence that we must have full transparency of club ownership and that the views of supporters are taken into consideration in any decision making. That kind of consultation was sadly lacking when Cardiff City decided to change the club’s colour and crest last year”.

Tim Hartley added: “It is also good to hear the government support moves to ‘actively encourage and incentivise the inclusion of supporter representatives on the boards of clubs’. The Trust has campaigned for formal and structured supporter representation. It is not a threat to clubs. Rather, such representation will strengthen clubs, improve the game and ensure that Cardiff City and every other club is properly rooted in the communities it serves. We look forward to seeing how our club and those who run the game respond to these challenges.”

The full text of the Sports Minister’s letter to David Bernstein, Chair of the FA can be found at – https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmcumeds/156/15604.htm

The Cardiff Trust submitted two pieces of written evidence to the Culture Committee’s inquiry supporting these key principles.

Pictures from the Trust AGM

Meet Phil Harding, the new member of the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust. Phil was one of five Bluebirds fans winning a seat on the board following elections.

Phil Harding

Trust chair Tim Hartley is pictured at the AGM with City legend Jason Perry (left) and Rob Phillips, BBC Wales soccer commentator.

Perry Phillips Hartley

Trust back project to bring young people together

Young people from the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff will be coming together next week to promote friendship and understanding through football.

Groups from Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd will meet up with colleagues from the Butetown, Riverside and Grangetown areas of Cardiff to discuss issues important to them and, of course, to play some football.

During the day at the University Fields in Treforest there will be sessions from Show Racism the Red Card, which tackles racism in grassroots football. New Links Wales will also discuss the temptations and issues surrounding the use of legal and illegal drugs. There will be skills coaching sessions and the day will end with a friendly football tournament.

The event is being organised by Game On and Dynamic Sports Development who are already engaged in getting young people into football and the event is sponsored by the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust.

Trust chair Tim Hartley, said: “These young people come from very different backgrounds and some of them will have rarely ventured either out of the valleys or Cardiff. We want to develop them as footballers of course but also to help them get new life skills and to make new friends.”

Dane Facey from Game On Wales said: “As key partners, we are encouraging young people from a variety of communities first areas, to come together and develop positive personal experiences that can increase interaction and social development between young people.”

Ali Abdi from Dynamic Sports Development said, “It’s a fantastic opportunity for our young people to engage with other young people of the same age and learn, understand and appreciate similarities and respect differences. It will create a real opportunity to foster and encourage new and lasting friendships between young players from across South Wales.”

The event takes place at the University Playing Fields, Treforest from noon on Thursday, May 30th.

Trust board members elected

The result of the elections to the Trust board were announced tonight. There were six candidates for the five places on the nine-member board.

The votes cast were Tim Hartley 150, Keith Morgan 139, Brian Mertens 117, David Craig 108, Phil Harding 100 and Phil Jones 80. Congratulations to Messrs Hartley, Morgan, Mertens and Craig on their re-election and to the new member of the board Phil Harding. There were 11 spoilt votes. The turnout in the election was just over 27%.

Thanks very much to Geraint Jones, who organised the election, and to those members that helped count the votes.

City legend at Trust annual meeting

Bluebirds legend Jason Perry and BBC Wales soccer commentator ​Rob Phillips ​ will be attending the Trust’s annual meeting next Tuesday, May 21st, when they will round the evening off with a review of the past season.

The meeting takes place at the Llandaff Institute in High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff (7pm for 7.30pm)

The results of the recent elections to the board will be announced with six candidates contesting five places,so there will be at least one new board member.

This is also an opportunity to chat to board members and raise any issues with them.

All Trust members welcome.