Trust News

Tim Hartley, Ali Abdi, Cardiff Youth Service, Andy McLaren, Lindsey Horsfield, Homeless FA.

Trust Chair Tim Hartley attended the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council seminar to discuss the Trust’s work with the local community and last year’s project with the Kenyan Bluebirds. Here’s his report.

Football’s important to all of us, but can it actually change society? The coaches and youth workers from around who attended the recent ‘Games Without Frontiers’ seminar in Glasgow seem to think so. We had come together to discuss how we can use football as a tool to help promote understanding and peace and heard some amazing stories of the efforts people are making to mend some of society’s ills through football and fair play.

Michael and Jim from Belfast are getting young people to kick a ball at each other rather than hurl objects over the peace wall. “It does work,” said Michael, “you take the kids out of the poisoned environment of their community and into a bubble of peace and goodwill. The ‘craic’ is good and the football is a real leveller.”

Nadine Brelstaff has been working with Football 4 Peace in Israel with Arab and Israeli youths. She stops the game when there is an incident and asks the players to consider what they did and how they reacted. “We are using football lessons for everyday life,” she says. “Mind you, it was not all plain sailing over there. We were not allowed into the occupied territories. And our tournament final was disrupted by, er, a recent bombing.”

Ali Abdi, Cardiff Youth Service,Tim Hartley,Ahmed Ahmed, Wales Somaliland Link, Musa Yousuf, Somali Youth Association

We as a Trust are also trying to break down barriers and challenge the myth that football is still part of a yob culture. For three seasons now we have been inviting local communities, religious groups and new migrants to the stadium to share our passion for the City. Feedback has been positive and everyone said they would love to come again. We also have a partnership with a group of Kenyan ‘Active Citizens’ and with the help of the club have travelled to Nairobi to help train them to use football to bring communities together. Cardiff was well represented at the seminar with four of the city’s Somali youth workers also attending.

One of the most inspirational speakers at the seminar was Andy McLaren. Andy was brought up in Glasgow, played for Reading and Dundee and got a cap for Scotland. He has had his own problems with drink and drugs but now runs community schemes in his home city.  He wants to show young people in the high rise flats that there are alternatives. And it does work. Over the last two years his work with Strathclyde police has helped lower complaints about drinking and anti social behaviour and reduced knife crime.

We also heard about research showing that messages on health and sex education are better retained when they are presented through sport rather than in a classroom. So there we are, not only is football really good fun, it is also a force for good. Fact!

Tim Hartley

Trust Chair

Fred Keenor original headstone is being unveiled in the memorial garden on Saturday before the Middlesborough game.

Fred’s nephew Graham Keenor, a member of the Trust, tells the story of how it all came about.

“As a new member of the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust in 2009 and on looking through the minutes of the Trust’s past meetings, I noticed that one item mentioned was to tend to Fred Keenor’s grave in Thornhill Crematorium.

“This prompted me to visit the grave where Fred’s ashes had been buried and found that the memorial stone was smothered by overgrown grass and the inscription on it could barely be read as it was badly weathered.

“I decided to look into the possibility of having the stone renewed and in discussions with Thornhill Crematorium found that my late father Wilfred Keenor had been the owner of the grave and as such the ownership passed onto me and my sister. This gave me the impetus to go ahead and renew the weathered headstone at Thornhill.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of Fred’s original headstone going to the rubbish tip, so knowing at the time that Cardiff City’s new stadium would incorporate a memorial garden I decided that when the time was right I would have Fred’s original headstone reconditioned and if permitted have it as a part of that memorial garden.

“With the successful unveiling of the Fred Keenor statue last Saturday there could be no better time than the present and having received permission from Cardiff City Football Club the reconditioned stone will be unveiled this coming Saturday, November 17 at 2pm.

“I’m sure the Keenor family and fans of Cardiff City Football Club will agree that this is an appropriate setting for Fred’s original memorial stone.”

Graham J Keenor

Those that were unable to pick up the speeches at the Keenor statue unveiling or were unable to attend the ceremony may be interested in the words of David Craig, the project manager for the appeal and a Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust board member:

Welcome to everyone

A particular welcome to all the members of the Keenor family and to the teachers parents and children of Stacey and Ton-yr-Ywen Primary schools.

It gives the members of the  Fred Keenor Statue Group great pleasure to see everyone gathered here today to witness the unveiling of this Statue of Fred Keenor.  It has been a long journey – a five-year journey in fact.

I will only give you a few details of that journey but full details are available in the wonderful commemorative brochure that has been produced for this occasion.

It was five years ago – almost to the day – that Mike Inker of the FKS Group decided that something had to be done to properly commemorate the achievements of Fred Keenor and the team of 1927.  It was decided that a statue would best serve that purpose.

Over the next twpyears Mike and others organised an online petition of 5000 signatures then support was sought and developed and a sculptor – Roger Andrews – was chosen to create the Statue.

The Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust took up the challenge of raising the

£85 000 needed and it was on April 23 2010 on this very spot that we formally launched the Appeal to raise the funds required to enable us to commission and then erect the Statue.

I can’t let this moment pass without recording my thanks for the wonderful support and generosity that have sustained us since April 2010.

Thanks to the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust who made the first major donation to the Appeal.

The City and County of Cardiff

Cardiff City Football Club for staging Stadium events in support of the Appeal and allowing us to sell goods from the Superstore and to hold bucket collections on match days and a special mention here for Wayne Nash Stadium Manager who has been supportive, enthusiastic and accommodating throughout and has been my link with the Club.  Thank you, Wayne.

The Welsh Government

The Football Association of Wales

To Craig Bellamy as Patron of the Appeal and for his generous donation

*Craig can’t be here today but he is represented by his dad Doug and his son Ellis —-welcome to you both……..

To the many local businesses who have supported us and for their generous donations

To Cardiff City Supporters’ Club

To the South Wales Echo which gave us the publicity which was crucial to our success

And last but not least – to the wonderful fans of Cardiff City FC for helping to sustain us in our efforts not just by their generosity in donating a large percentage of that total but also by their good nature and unwavering encouragement for what we were trying to do.

Thanks of course to Roger Andrews for his creativity,  skill and total application to the cause. By his own admission this was never just a task for him……….the more he got to know Fred the more it became an honour.  It has been a pleasure to work with you Roger and to watch this Statue develop with you.

Special thanks to Dave Sugarman who with the help of Phil Nifield,  Richard Shepherd and Lyndon Rhodes has taken the lead in producing a splendid limited edition commemorative booklet.  If you have not yet bought one they are on sale for £3 at the Trust Office/the Club Shop/ the Supporters’ Club Office and at other points around the Stadium and will be on sale in the weeks ahead.

Inside the commemorative brochure you will find a leaflet explaining the work of the Trust and a membership form.  Please take time to read this and consider signing up.  The more members the Trust has the stronger its voice.

Finally thanks to my colleagues in the Fred Keenor Statue Group  – Phil Nifield Graham Keenor Mike Inker Tim Hartley Tracey Marsh and Dave Sugarman and those on the Board of the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust for their unwavering support.

If I have left anyone out apologies but I have tried to say thank you by telephone/letter/e.mail and face to face to everyone who has helped……………..

This is truly a people’s statue and it is for the people to enjoy.

Our friends from Chasetown FC have invited us back to Staffordshire for their match against Stamford on Saturday, December 1st.

The Supporters’ Trust and the Supporters’ Club have built a great friendship with the club following City’s FA Cup 3rd round tie with them in 2008.

A group of Cardiff fans visited the Scholars ground in 2011 and the Chasetown fans also came down to the Cardiff City Stadium last year. Now they want us to return to Chasetown and have had a special flag made to celebrate our friendship which will be presented to us before the match in December.

If you are interested in coming to Chasetown then email help@ccfctrust.org.uk and if we have enough interest we will organise a bus.

We’re delighted to announce that the last of the batch of 200 Fred Keenor miniature statues was sold this evening.

Thanks to everyone that purchased a miniature in support of the statue appeal.