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The following Press release was  issued by Mick Antoniw, the Assembly Member for Pontypridd

Mick Antoniw, Assembly Member for Pontypridd has gained Welsh Government involvement in his aim to help Supporters Direct Cymru get off the ground in Wales.

Mick Antoniw, who chairs the All Party Group on Co-operatives and Mutuals, recently hosted an event at the Assembly to identify how community ownership of sport can be extended and made more accessible.

The event was addressed by representatives from Supporters Direct, who already work in Wales by virtue of supporters’ trusts established by clubs in the English football pyramid, and have already spent time with groups involved in Llanelli AFC and Pontypridd, and have met with the WRU and Sports Wales.

Supporters Direct’s successes, such as their role in helping to rescue Merthyr Town FC, convinced Mick Antoniw of the merit of setting up Supporters Direct establishing themselves independently in Wales.  He raised the issue with Culture and Sport Minister John Griffiths, who readily agreed to get involved.

“I’m really pleased to have had such an enthusiastic response from the Minister,” Mick Antoniw said.  “It shows the Welsh Government is serious about promoting sport in Wales and has the confidence in people on the ground to take a leading role in the clubs and sports facilities that are often at the centre of their community.”

“There’s been a growing interest across Wales in community ownership generally and I firmly believe that establishing Supporters Direct Cymru will help put sport back at the heart of our communities.”

Head of England and Wales for Supporters Direct, Daniel Rose, said, “Political backing is extremely important in moving this sort of ambitious project forward.  I am hugely encouraged by the Welsh Government’s willingness to get involved.  My colleagues and I are looking forward to meeting with the Minister very soon.”

Tim Hartley, chair of Cardiff City  Supporters Trust said, “This is a really exciting development.  Wales has been an enthusiastic proponent of supporters’ trusts already, but we currently have no way of extending that into other areas that need it. A Supporters Direct Cymru will help us to reach more communities, more effectively.”

David Craig and Keith Morgan, are pictured (centre and right) presenting a cheque for £500 to Richard Moremon, Ty Hafan Head of Strategic Relationships.

The Trust has presented a £500 cheque to children’s charity, Ty Hafan following the sale of T-shirts.

The fund raising idea came from board member Jon Day, who worked on the design and production of the T-shirts with a friend.

The T-shirts were sold for £7 with £3 of this donated to Ty Hafan and most were sold from the Trust Office at the stadium.  The success of the fund raising project would not have been possible without the generosity and support of Bluebirds fans.

Following the cheque presentation, Trust vice-chair David Craig and fellow board member Keith Morgan were given a tour of the facilities at Ty Hafan by Diane Stringer, Strategic Relationships  Co-ordinator.

David  said: “Both Keith and I were so impressed by what we heard about the level of care provided by staff; by the range and quality of the care facilities, both for children, young people and families and knowing that the £500 will help towards the continuation of such a unique facility.

“We also heard about the wonderful long-term support given to Ty Hafan by our club.  On the visitor palm-print wall in one of the corridors our attention was drawn in particular to those of Graham Kavanagh, Anthony Gerrard and Malky Mackay.”

David Craig and Keith Morgan, are pictured (centre and right) presenting a cheque for £500 to Richard Moremon, Ty Hafan Head of Strategic Relationships.

Do any ‘Bluebirds’ fans out there want to take us down memory lane with stories from your days at Ninian Park? Author Lloyd Thompson (lloyd.thompson@blueyonder.co.uk) is publishing a book and your views may be published in it.

This is what Lloyd wrote to the Trust:

How did you feel when your team ‘upped-sticks’ and left your old ground? Were you upset, frustrated or annoyed at your Club relocating or was it the best thing that ever happened? I know how strongly I felt when my team Bolton Wanderers left Burnden Park and moved out of town to the Reebok.

Having watched The Wanderers at Burnden for almost 30 years of my life I felt so devastated that I felt compelled to write an article which was published in just about every fanzine and magazine at the time.

Since then dozens of clubs up and down the country have moved home and I am looking for fans who want to tell their stories in a new book that I am releasing.

I am already a published author and being a massive football fan I want to write a book about football by the people who know best, THE FANS! I would really like to feature your contributions about how real fans feel when the team they love leaves its ‘spiritual home’.

So, if you are interested in having your say then please email me your stories and feeling, this is your moment to have your say! By contributing you could very well be published!

Please note no payments will be made for any contributions but the opportunity to feature in what I know will be the book of the century, you will live on forever – payment enough!!!

The Trust Board wants to build up a fighting fund to enable it to meet any challenges that might arise and generally improve the Trust’s finances.

This will also cover the organisation of appeals, undertaking work to raise funds to donate to particular charities and to assist other groups raise funds through advice, guidance, the sharing of experience and encouraging our members to attend events.

To this end the Board wants to set up a Trust fundraising group and would like the wider membership to become involved.  So, if you are interested and want to know more please contact Board member David Craig @ fundraising@ccfctrust.org. David will then be able to provide you with details of what is planned.

We had great success with the Fred Keenor Statue Appeal and would like to use the experience we gained from that and, on behalf of good causes, benefit from the generosity, goodwill and enthusiasm of all Cardiff City’s supporters and their relatives and friends.

The Trust has submitted an objection to the Football Association to the plans to change Hull City’s name to Hull Tigers. Unlike the shirt rebranding, the FA can overrule a decision of an owner in the event of strong supporter opposition. Our submission is below:

Cardiff City Supporters Trust submission to the F.A.

Proposal to change  the name of Hull City FC

 1.      Introduction

1.1    Established in 2008, Cardiff City Supporters Society Limited (the Trust) is a democratic, not-for-profit group of supporters, committed to giving fans a voice in the decision-making process of the club, and to strengthening the links between Cardiff City and the community it serves.

1.2   The Trust shares the concerns of many supporters at the way football clubs are owned and managed simply as businesses without proper concern for, or involvement by, the wider social and football community. Football is our national game and we forget its roots in communities and its social importance at our peril.

2. Rebranding – Cardiff City and Hull City

2.1   In June 2012 the owners of Cardiff City FC announced they were going to rebrand the club by changing the colour of the home shirts from the traditional blue to red and by creating a new ‘dragon’ badge instead of the hundred year old ‘Bluebird.’ Fans saw these as radical moves which would alter the identity of one of Wales’s most historic football clubs.

2.2  These changes were announced without any consultation with fans or supporters’ groups. The Trust conducted a poll of its members.  Nine out of ten members said they had not been consulted adequately over the changes.

2.3  The experience at Hull City and the owner’s desire to change the historic name of the club has particular resonance with supporters at Cardiff. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry and the Government and the football authorities’ responses to it all supported the principle that supporters be given the opportunity to play a more active role in the decision making process of their clubs.

3. Conclusion

3.1   In attempting to change the name of Hull City to Hull Tigers the owner of the Club has shown a disregard for the history and traditions of a proud football club and we believe, of the wider game. Supporters of Hull, as was the case at Cardiff, have been treated solely as paying customers who can simply take or leave their loyalty like moving utilities supplier.

3.2  The Trust believes major changes to the location or identity of a football club should be subject to a formal consultation process, subject to established and pre-agreed standards.

3.3  In order to ensure compliance by clubs, these requirements for specified major changes should be a part of the football authorities’ licensing framework. Any changes implemented by a club without formal consultation should be considered a breach of the licence and sanctions imposed.

3.4  In view of the above we would urge the Football Association to reject the application to change the name of Hull City to Hull Tigers and we would ask you to again consider including safeguards on how such changes are decided in clubs’ licences.