Latest Posts

As fans will know, there have been some problems with delivery of the fantastic Trust blue shirts from Kukri Sports.

Kukri has issued a statement on its website which can be viewed on the link https://www.kukrisports.co.uk/ccst-statement/

The Trust would urge anyone interested in wearing a blue alternative to the club red first team shirt to order as soon as possible and support the campaign for a return to blue.

It is a quality product and remember £5 from every sale goes to the wonderful work at the Ty Hafan children’s hospice.

Cardiff City fans will be supporting a peaceful protest when the Bluebirds play Coventry City on Wednesday evening in the Capital One Cup.

In the protest about the club being forced to play its home games at Northampton, the Sky Blue Trust  wants all supporters to hold up A4 cards with ‘Let Down’ written on them 35 minutes into the game (35 miles is the distance between Coventry and Northampton). They believe they have been ‘let down’ by the football authorities, hence the wording.

David Johnson of the Sky Blues Trust has been in touch with Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust and Vince Alm of Cardiff City Supporters Club, which is taking  coaches to Northampton, for the Sky Sports televised match.

The cards will be handed out to those on coaches and and also distributed at turnstiles by the Sky Blues Trustto  those travelling by car.

In a statement on their website, the Sky Blues Trust said: “The match between the two CCFC’s on Wednesday is an opportunity to let the world know that fans are united in their disgust at the way they have been let down. The Sky Blue Trust, along with their Welsh counterparts, are organising a protest to make all those responsible aware just how the fans feel about being betrayed and let down.

“We call on all fans to unite – all the Coventry fans, those on the hill, those who go into Sixfields unite and all the Cardiff fans attending unite and all hold up the leaflets in the 35^th minute bearing the simple statement “LET DOWN”.

“Coventry fans want their team back in Coventry, the 8,000 who marched last month and the tremendous support there has been for the Coventry Telegraph’s #bringCityhome campaign are testament to the strength of feeling.  The march by thousands of Cardiff fans in March shows their anger at their situation. Football fans united by one thing – they are all Fans Let Down.”

Non-League Day, the campaign to promote semi-professional and amateur football, returns for a fifth consecutive season on Saturday, September 6.

The event, which regularly features on SKY Sports, Soccer AM, talkSPORT, 5live and The Non-League Football Show, always coincides with a break in the Premier League and Championship calendar, giving a wide range of fans the opportunity to visit their local non-League club.

Our official charity partner for 2014 is Prostate Cancer UK. This will see hundreds of clubs across the country signing for Men United by raising money and awareness. In addition, Non-League Day will be working with a number of other agencies to promote important messages around anti-racism, grassroots participation and affordable local football.

The newly launched Non-League Day website features a wealth of information and features, including ways to get involved, ideas to boost crowds, online shop and a handy ‘match finder’.

The home shirt colour and badge change by Cardiff City’s owner and the attempted name change at Hull City provided examples of how owners – who make massive investments into football clubs – think that they can just run roughshod over the tradition and history without proper consultation with fans.

The panellists on the workshop, ‘Protecting Club Identity’ were Chris Cooper (City til I die – Hull City), Brian Mertens (CCST), Mark Harris (Evo-Stick League) and Clive Efford MP (Shadow Sports Minister).

There was an excellent debate with contributions from Malcolm Clarke (FSF, FA Council rep), various Trusts and a description of how the Portuguese Leagues control what owners can do.

Clive Efford explained that he is leading a cross-party investigation into these very matters, but he warned that involving politicians can result in the wrong solution for most.

Not all owners refuse to consult with supporter groups but rules were needed that clearly state what can and can’t be changed.

The FA could change its rules so that club owners would have to fully consult its supporters before making significant changes, but it would require a 75% vote in favour! ‘Turkeys voting for Christmas’ was mentioned!

Malcolm Clarke asked that we send our proposed rule changes to him and he will put these forward.

The end result of these discussions was that we can tackle these problems through political changes, FA rules or we as Trusts could do something ourselves.

A kite system where clubs are fully consulting with their fans, could be awarded by Supporters Direct and this could be seen by clubs as ‘a badge of honour’ which could be lost if they failed in the future.

This is a debate that will roll on until something satisfactory results.

Brian Mertens

Cardiff City Supporters Trust Liaison Officer

A new message to fans from the Football Supporters’ Federation