The current Parliamentary Election has seen more declarations of intent from the main political parties to create the opportunity for fan involvement in running their club.
To maximise the opportunties being created, Supporters Direct has pulled together a campaign for Trusts for contact their local Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to gain their individual support should they be elected.
On behalf of the Foxes Trust, Matt Davis has written the following e-mail and sent it to 30 local candidates.
“Dear Prospective MP,
I am writing to you in my capacity as Board Member of the Foxes Trust (Leicester City Supporters’ Trust), we currently represent circa 600 members, all supporters of Leicester City Football Club.
We are also part of a wider movement for change within football of over 250,000 football fans, represented by our national body, Supporters Direct. We recognise the importance of football clubs as social institutions and hubs of cultural and economic life in their community. They are not businesses like any other, and therefore should not be run as businesses like any other. As a result we believe supporters and the community should be represented within the ownership and management of the club….
I imagine you are aware of the recent announcements from the main political parties calling for increased supporter representation and ownership at their clubs (Labour) and also a call to enable supporter co-operative ownership (Conservative), whilst the Liberal Democrats promised to bring better overall governance to the game.
The purpose of this letter is to put to you the following questions:
- Do you support the principles of increased supporter engagement, influence and ownership at their football clubs within a system of better overall governance?
- Do you commit to working with your local supporters’ trust and Supporters Direct nationally to help achieve these objectives?
We would welcome a letter from you stating your support to the two questions or a public announcement of the same nature. In addition, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you, either privately or publicly.
As a candidate in the upcoming UK General Elections, we believe your very public role has never been more important in helping us locally, and in helping to shape the future of football nationally
Your responses will be published on the Foxes Trust Website (www.foxestrust.com)
I look forward to your reply.
Yours Sincerely
Matt Davis
Board Member Foxes Trust”
All replies received will be published on this website with brief details about the respondents
The Foxes Trust as an organisation is not supporting any political party, these articles are published to allow members (and website readers) to be aware of candidates views on fan involvement in their clubs, it is up to individuals whether these views will influence their vote.