This is the final article looking back at the Supporters Direct organised Midlands Regional Conference which was held at the Walkers Stadium during July.
Closing Debate:
The closing debate focused on clubs in the community with particular emphasis on how we identify our ‘community’ and then how we interact with it. Chaired by Chris Egerton of BBC Radio Leicester, the following personnel were on the debating panel:
David Taylor – MP for North West Leicestershire AND Foxes Trust Member, Brian Burgess – Bees United & Brentford FC, Darren Bernstein – Football League, Dave Boyle – Deputy Chief Executive of Supporters Direct, and our very own Craig White – LCFC Football in the Community Officer*
* – Many thanks to Craig who postponed his holiday by one day in order to attend
Again lessons were learnt and healthy debate between the panel and delegates took place.
Close of conference:
The conference closed and the cash bar opened in order to allow valuable continued discussion and networking in an informal environment!!! And finally:Should you wish to know more about the conference, please do not hesitate to contact me at the following email address: [email protected]
John Adcock’s Personal View of the Midlands Conference…..
This being my first Supporters Direct Midlands Trust Conference I was not sure what to expect. As it turned out I was not disappointed as it was a very interesting and thought provoking day which was very well organized by Jacqui Forster and the team.
Opening with four very different speakers who grabbed the attention even early on a Saturday morning. I particularly enjoyed Peter Jones on life as a referee – it certainly helped to appreciate football from the man in the middle’s point of view.
Peter Jones during his speech
This was followed by workshops – the two I attended being ‘Planning AGM’s and Community Interest Companies. It was interesting that the AGM workshop concentrated less on the formal aspects and more on ways of using them to attract trust support and membership.
Community Interest Companies seemed to have value in ensuring that football clubs maintained interest in the community and preventing big business taking the game away from the fans.
In between a very pleasant lunch break (excellent catering by LCFC) gave opportunity to visit a variety of informative displays and stands.
The day concluded with a lively debate from a panel led by Chris Egerton from BBC Radio Leicester which mainly focused on Community based issues but also prompted a wide range of topical discussions which allowed for a variety of opinions!!
Panel Member – David Taylor MP
Panel Member – LCFC Football In The Community – Craig White
Overall an enjoyable and worthwhile day which clearly demonstrated that the trust movement is alive and kicking! If you haven’t been to a conference I can recommend it.
We hope the series of articles has given you an insight into some of the activities undertaken by Trusts.