In British sports, a Supporters' Trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen their influence over the running of the club they support. There are over 140 Supporters’ Trusts across England, Wales and Scotland and the majority of these are affiliated to football clubs, however trusts also exist for Rugby league and Rugby Union.

With Government and with cross-party support, Supporters Direct was established to encourage the formation of supporters' trusts to promote democratic supporter ownership. Supporters Direct encourages these bodies to be formed as Industrial and Provident Societies (IPSs), and assists with their formation, legal and start-up costs.

Supporters' trusts were commonly founded in response to a financial crisis which threatens the future of a team, as was the case at Chesterfield, Lincoln and York. Their involvement has reportedly ensured the survival of over 20 different clubs entering into administration, particularly during the period of crisis as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital. Supporters' trusts are now more commonly founded in order to increase influence at clubs through a financial stake in the club.

The first trust established was at Northampton Town F.C. in January 1992. The largest is the Manchester United Supporters Trust, which used to be known as Shareholders United, and currently has around 30,000 members. Other large trusts such as Reading, Spurs and Rangers have between 3,000 and 4,500 members.

Contents 1 Methods for influencing clubs 1.1 Club ownership 1.2 Board representation 2 Supporters' trusts in other sports 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Methods for influencing clubs

The main objective of a Supporters' Trust is to provide a vehicle for fans to influence the running of their club. This is achieved by a number of different strategies, including gaining control by fundraising to finance the acquisition of shares in the club or direct board representation.

[edit] Club ownership

The most effective method of influencing the running of a club is club ownership. More than 110 supporters' trusts currently hold equity within their football clubs while Supporters' Trusts have outright or majority ownership or control at four Football League, eight non-league clubs in England and two in Scotland. Recently, they were joined by a fifteenth, this time in Rugby League. These are as follows:

League clubs:

• Stockport County F.C. - Stockport County Supporters' Trust
• Brentford F.C. - Bees United
• Exeter City F.C. - Exeter City Supporters Trust
• Notts County F.C. - Notts County Supporters Trust

Non-League clubs:

• AFC Wimbledon - The Dons Trust
• AFC Telford - Telford United Supporters' Trust
• Cambridge City FC - Cambridge City Supporters Trust
• Clydebank F.C. - United Clydebank Supporters
• Dorchester Town F.C. - Dorchester Town Supporters Trust
• Enfield Town F.C. - Enfield Supporters' Society Ltd
• FC United of Manchester - (club established as an IPS itself)
• Forest Green Rovers FC - Forest Green Rovers Supporters Trust
• Gretna FC 2008
• Newport (IOW) F.C. - Newport (Isle of Wight) Supporters' Trust
• Runcorn Linnets F.C.
• Scarborough Athletic F.C. - (club established as an IPS itself)

Rugby League Clubs:

• Rochdale Hornets - Rochdale Hornets (RL) Supporters Trust

[edit] Board representation

Over 40 Football clubs currently have supporter representation within the boards of their football clubs, such as the Lincoln City Supporters' Trust at Lincoln City F.C., the Oldham Athletic Supporters Trust and the Swans Trust at Swansea City A.F.C. as well as Dorchester Town Supporters Trust at Dorchester Town F.C. at non-league level.

About 100 football trusts currently have shares in their clubs.

[edit] Supporters' trusts in other sports

The following are Rugby Union supporters' trusts currently in the UK: -

• Bristol Rugby Independent Supporters (BRIS), representing Bristol RFC.
• Call To Arms Supporters Trust, representing Cardiff Rugby (Cardiff RFC and the Cardiff Blues).
• Friends of Newport Rugby, representing Newport RFC.
• CRYS16 - The Scarlets Supporters Trust, representing Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets.

The following are Rugby League supporters' trusts currently in the UK:

• Swinton RLFC Supporters' Trust, Swinton, near Manchester, Lancashire. (Trust website http://www.lionstrust.co.uk/)

[edit] See also

• Supporters Direct

[edit] External links

• Supporters Direct: homepage
• Supporters Direct: links page - links to supporters trust websites

Fresh Players, New Tactics: Lessons from Northampton Town Supporters Trust published by The Football Governance Research Centre