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Update for Trust members on Football Governance Act Meeting with Martyn Henderson, Interim Chief Operating Officer of the Independent Football Regulator. 

As we have previously reported, members of the Trust board have been involved in the progress of this very important piece of legislation for a number of years since the initial Fans Review of Football, through conversations and meetings with politicians in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, all through its progress as a Bill in Parliament and with its resultant becoming a formal Act a couple of months ago. 

So why is this important for fans? 

Well, it represents the first major change in football related law for many decades, aiming to ensure that all professional football clubs in the top five tiers of football in England and Wales have a good system of corporate governance and are owned and run by people who are suitable to do so. It also sets out clear rules which clubs must adhere to ensuring that there is full and proper consultation with elected fans groups. The Trust will play an important part in this. 

A number of Trust board members held an online meeting with Martyn Henderson who is the interim Chief Operating Officer of the Independent Football Regulator which will be the group of people (up to around 100 in number) overseeing and controlling the implementation of the new Act. He was able to provide us with a very useful summary of how the Regulator is going to work and what its powers include and exclude, plus answer a number of questions we put to him. We have detailed notes of the meeting but have limited these to a briefer summary below.

What clubs are covered by the new Act? 

All clubs within the top 5 divisions of the English football i.e down to National League level but not below. A total of 116 clubs. 

Scottish football is not covered. 

Women’s` football is not covered 

What is being regulated? 

Checks that clubs have adequate financial and non-financial resources to enable them to be run properly. 

Checks that clubs are engaging in proper consultation with their fanbases in key areas such as operational and match-day issues corporate governance and protection of club heritage . 

Stronger tests on the suitability of club owners, directors and senior executives. 

Areas such as ticket prices, match scheduling and matchday customer service and VAR are excluded from being regulated. 

The above will be adjusted to reflect the size and resources of each club being monitored so that it is proportionate to each club. E.g Premier League clubs will be expected to have greater resources than clubs lower down the pyramid¶ 

How will clubs be regulated? 

Each club in the 116 will need to hold a Licence to be allowed to operate. They will be given a provisional licence temporarily to give them time to be fully compliant and qualify for a full licence. If they do not qualify then they will not be allowed to operate in the top 5 divisions. A far stronger penalty than points

deductions or transfer embargoes which will remain under the control of the league in which the clubs operate. 

TheInitially the Regulator will have a staff of around 100, including Ssupervisors, as well as and back up staff such as legal, accounting and administrative staff. Each Supervisor will be handed responsibility for overseeing a number of clubsof4 or 5 clubs to ensure they are being compliant. 

The Regulator is currently based in the offices of the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) but will eventually move to its own offices in Manchester and London. in November. 

Implementation dates 

Consultations are currently taking place with the football industryauthorities over the practicalities of the new legislation. 

The IFR, recently launched its proposed Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) consultation, alongside information gathering, enforcement and sanctions guidance. The IFR will continue to roll out further policy consultations; for example, on fan engagement, licensing and financial regulation in the coming weeks and months. 

The full implementation is of the Licensing regime is expected for the start 2027-28 season. 

Overall summary 

This was an excellent meeting, providing very useful information about the new Act and how it will work in practice. 
It also provided reassurance that CCST had provided input over the years to bring about the new legislation and will have
an important role to play in club consultation with fans going forward

We’ve been approached by some newly joined members to ask what the Trust and its board has done since its formation.

So we’ve drafted a list, which is far from exhaustive, of the many initiatives the Trust has been involved in through its board and members. They cover the present and the past.

As volunteers we’re proud of our work for the community and representing Bluebirds fans.

For information: While we do have three long-standing board members, two new board members joined in 2024 and another in 2025.

FOOTBALL RELATED

• Worked with the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) and local MPs on the Football Governance Bill which became law and has led to the establishment of an Independent Football Regulator. Our role has been acknowledged by the Regulator’s Chief Operating Officer, Martyn Henderson OBE. The Regulator’s roles include protecting the interests of fans from unscrupulous club owners such as at Bury and more recently, Morecambe.
• Held regular meetings with club chair Mehmet Dalman and represented Trust members at club Supporter Liaison meetings and the Fans Parliament as well as pressing for the setting up of a Fans Advisory Board (FAB). The Trust now has two members on the FAB. The Trust board has also encouraged the club chair and other club directors to meet with fans generally.
• Attended the annual FSA meeting and represented the Trust at EFL Premier League, Championship and League One online meetings. One of our board members met with Trusts in south-west England during a recent cup tie in Exeter.
• Took a prominent role in the now successful campaign for Safe Standing at football grounds. Hosted an exhibition on safe standing in Cardiff.
• Produced a regular magazine for members. The next edition is out this month.
• Helped the club’s Disabled Supporters Association financially, including paying for a bus for disabled members to go to a match in Reading.
• Led a two year campaign to raise more than £85,000 to erect a statue in honour of Fred Keenor. This involved hundreds of hours of work by some board members and lobbying bodies, including government, and individuals, for support.
• The Trust board arranged a visit by players to Barry College for Black History Month.
• Back in 2013 a Trust-organised survey showed City fans were pretty much split 50-50 on the controversial red rebranding. But a later year a similar survey showed 85% wanted blue back. Then a March in 2014 supported by all the major fan groups for the first time – Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, Cardiff City Supporters’ Club, Cardiff City Forum, Cardiff City Online and Bluebirds Unite was held, leading eventually to the return of blue in early 2015.

https://tinyurl.com/msmeufbt

• Held evenings in the past with former Bluebirds legends.

COMMUNITY

• Financially backed the establishment of the wonderful Memorial Garden at the stadium and we continue to support the work there.
• Held six foodbank collections, with another planned in December, collecting thousands of donations, both in cash and food.
• Sold Sol Bamba Shirts, raising vital funds for Lymphoma Action.
• Working with Cardiff City Foundation to arrange ​PSA testing and prostate cancer awareness at the stadium.
• Contributed £3,000 for a specially, designed mural at the Sensory Room at the stadium.
• Donated annually to Rookwood Sound, which broadcasts to patients in hospitals.
• Donated more than £12,500 to the Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice from the sale of specially-designed ‘blue shirts’ when Cardiff City was red. Also organised a bucket collection at the ground for the charity.
• Adopted local charities chosen by members and supported them financially, including homeless and brain injury charities.
• Board members parcelled up food donations to help those in living in war-torn Ukraine.

The following message was sent today to Trust members:

Dear Member

We have been asked by some recently joined members to convene a special general meeting of the Trust to consider the following:

“That an election of the Cardiff City Supporters Trust Board be held within 30 days of this Special General Meeting.

As part of this election, all current members of the Board shall stand down and may seek re-election should they wish to do so, following the Trust’s Election Policies and Procedures.

Any Trust member who meets the eligibility requirements may also seek election in accordance with the same rules and procedures.”

The meeting will take place at the Cardiff City Stadium on October 24th  (Ricoh Suite) at 7pm

We will be contacting you with the voting arrangements shortly,. including e-mail, for members who are unable to attend.

Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust Board

Get together of Supporter Trusts at Exeter City’s ground

We were delighted to meet up with fellow Trusts before the Vertu Trophy game at the home of Exeter City Football Club. The club is wholly owned by their Supporters’ Trust.

The Exeter Trust issued the following statement: “On September 16th 2025, the Exeter City Supporters Trust hosted representatives from the Supporters Trusts of Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United for their EFL Trophy match against Cardiff City. All Trusts agreed that open dialogue, communication and collaboration is crucial for negotiating the ever changing landscape and issues surrounding football in this day and age.”

The Trust was represented by board member Tim Banks (pictured left) who said: “It was great to meet up with fellow Trusts who work hard to ensure the voice of fans is heard loud and clear. I’d like to thank our friends at Exeter for the welcome I received.”

Pontypridd Foodbank’s van filled up with donations earlier this year.

We wanted to let you know that we will be holding a pre-Christmas foodbank collection before the Doncaster game on Saturday, December 13th. A decision on the foodbank to benefit will be made in the coming
weeks.
This will be the Trust’s seventh collection in aid of some of the most vulnerable families and individuals in society who struggle to put> food on their table.
Thanks to the generosity of Trust members, Cardiff City FC staff and players and fans generally we’ve so far been able to donate more than 6,000 items of food and other products to foodbanks. In addition, a
considerable amount of cash donations has been given to foodbanks.
The Trust and foodbanks generally really do appreciate the fantastic  backing for the collections and hope you will again support this initiative, if you are able.