Trust News

Dear Tracey & Vince

Subject: Chasetown FC Stadium Fundraising

Chasetown FC is embarking on a remarkable venture which will see a significant development to the Scholars Ground. Since the FA cup venture against Cardiff in 2007-08 season,Chasetown FC have also progressed with recent promotion to the Evostik Northern Premier League.

We are pleased to announce that we will start work this season on a brand new stand development which will house 500 spectators and house six hospitality boxes. This is a major achievement and one that requires significant funding.

As a result Chasetown FC will be hosting a fundraising day on Sunday,October 23. This day will consist of lots of fundraising activities including a penalty shootout competition, BBQ & bar with the main attraction of the day being a match organised by the main sponsor of the Scholars (Crown Cuttings).

The game will be as follows:  Steve Jones XI vs a Former Aston Villa players (3pm ko). Gates open at noon.

With our heritage both past, present and future Chasetown FC would like to invite our friends from Cardiff City Supporters’ cvClub & Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust to join us in helping and supporting us on this day. For all Cardiff fans that can join us on this day we will provide a free burger from the BBQ and a free pint/drink of equal amount from the bar in return for meeting our friends again.

We would be most appreciative if you can join us on Sunday, October 23.  If you can join us we would be grateful if you could provide us with numbers attending to allow us to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate CCFC supporters.

Regards

Steve Seed

Following the success of the Trust game in Pontypridd we have been challenged to a rematch by the Valley Commandos.

OK, we lost 8–4 ,but we did have a good time and raised £580 for the Fred Keenor statue appeal.

Let’s see if we can top that this time.

The game will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, November  11, at  Maritime   Park , Pontypridd.

There will be a buffet and a band later at the Rose and Crown, Graig, Pontypridd.£5 per player.

If you’re interested in being part of the Trust team then e-mail community@ccfctrust.org

Tim Hartley, Chair

Should safe standing areas be provided in stadiums for fans? That was the topic under discussion on Tuesday when the Trust hosted a roadshow at the Ninian Park pub in Cardiff.

Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, Cardiff West AM Mark Drakeford, Cardiff North AM Julie Morgan and the South Wales Central AM Andrew RT Davies joined Trust members and fans for a demonstration of how a scheme could operate. Also present was Cardiff City stadium manager Wayne Nash.

Jon Darch from the Football Supporters’ Federation brought seating from Stuttgart’s stadium in Germany to show how it might work if given the go-ahead in the UK.

The seats – known as rail – are made of robust metal with a high back forming a sturdy rail for safe standing and are widely used in the German Bundesliga. At German champions Borussia Dortmund there is standing for 27,000 fans, one third of the stadium’s capacity.

Jon, who has taken his roadshow to a dozen stadia and venues across the UK, said: “All we want is for fans to be able to watch football the way they want to – be it sitting or standing.”

He explained that the rail seats would cost around £80 each – compared to £30-£60 for plastic seating seen in many grounds. The rail seats could allow clubs to provide between 10 and 20 per cent of a stadium’s capacity for standing and boost capacity in those areas by perhaps 80 per cent, bringing additional revenue to clubs.

Jon added: “If standing was not safe it would be banned at every ground in the UK.” League Two Morecambe’s new stadium is a mixture of seating and standing.

The FSF said that it was a complete myth that the Hillsborough Disaster was evidence of standing being unsafe. The Justice Taylor report primarily blamed overcrowding, poor policing and bad stadium layout, stressed the FSF.

Among the advantages of rail seats say the FSF are that it answers fans’ calls for choice, makes football more socially inclusive, counters problems of an ageing fan base and is safer than standing at lower-backed seats.

The Trust hasn’t taken a position on safe standing but we felt it was important to look at the case.

Trust chair Tim Hartley has made it clear that while safety must always be the first consideration but pointed to mainland Europe where the noise and camaderie of the traditional terrace had been kept while maintaining a safe environment.

You can visit the Safe Standing website at https://www.safestandingroadshow.co.uk

Jon Darch of the FSF is at the back with Tim Hartley, Trust chair (left) and Kevin Brennan, MP for Cardiff West, right.

Fans are welcome to attend the Safe Standing Roadshow at the Ninian Park pub in Cardiff tomorrow at 5.30pm.

Jon Darch from the Football Supporters’ Federation will be demonstrating of how safe standing could operate and talked us through the benefits.

The event is open to all, not just Trust members.

The Supporters’ Trust welcomed new international migrants to Cardiff last season – by taking them down the City.

Now a video has been produced of the day out enjoyed by nine participants from Poland, Congo, Sudan, India and Libya who attended the Barnsley game.

The participants were filmed before and after the match to give their impressions of attending a professional football game in Wales for the first time.

They all said they would definitely be coming back to watch another game and were all given disposable cameras to record their day in the Cardiff City Stadium.

The day was part of the OPENCities project, which is exploring how international populations can contribute to a city’s success. The project is led by the British Council in partnership with 11 partner cities including Belfast, Bilbao, Bucharest, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Madrid, Nitra, Sofia, Poznan, Vienna and Cardiff.

You can view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziWLelYk8YI.

It was produced by Gareth Phillips, Joe Perrin and Olga Kelly