(mst) Statement

[MST]

The past year has been positive for the Motherwell FC Supporters’ Trust. Thanks to a number of excellent events and initiatives, our membership base has grown for the first time since 2003. Our ‘Meet the Manager’ event attracted over 150 Motherwell fans to hear the thoughts and opinions of Jim Gannon, Mark Hately, Chris McCart and Craig Brown. In February, we staged the first Motherwell Supporters’ Trust Poker Tournament at Daniels Bar. We also organised the Stars and Stripes Night in Fir Park which brought Motherwell fans together to watch the World Cup. More recently, 16 teams took part in the Motherwell Supporters’ Trust Sixes competition at Fir Park..

 

During the 2009/2010 season, money raised by the Trust has helped to make improvements to the disabled facilities in and around Fir Park. We’ve supported youth development and continue to oversee the process which will lead to a permanent fans memorial to Phil O’Donnell.

 

However, we know we can do more. Over the last few months, the Trust have been working hard on a new mission statement which sets out what Motherwell fans want from the Trust in 2010. We’ve done this by speaking to our members, the club, local community groups and those who have in the past said that they wouldn’t consider joining the Trust. Today we launch our commitments for the Motherwell Supporters’ Trust for the next five years and with this our specific actions for the season ahead across our three key focus areas.

 

Our Community matters: We will make a worthwhile contribution to the local community and strengthen the ties between it and our club.

 

In order to support this aim over the coming 12 months:

 

- We will commit a minimum of 25% of our annual income to community projects.

- We will introduce a local schools competition encouraging 1st and 2nd year pupils to lead a more active lifestyle and become engaged with the club.

- We will actively pursue opportunities to secure funding grants for Motherwell FC in the Community and Motherwell FC Youth Development from external sources

- We will create a skills database of Motherwell supporters which can be used to aid local groups and the club

 

Our Support matters: We will ensure our members feel appreciated with exciting events and regular communication whilst actively seeking the thoughts of the wider Motherwell support.

 

Our specific commitments for the season ahead include:

 

- We will launch a new membership benefit scheme including a revamped membership card system

- We will communicate with our members by email each month and quarterly by introducing a newsletter.

- We will organise a minimum of six events which will appeal to a wide section of our support over the course of the coming season.

- We will undertake a survey of all Motherwell fans to find areas where we and the club can serve them better.

 

Our Club matters: We will support the club and effectively influence the important decisions which affect the support.

 

Over the first year of our new plan we aim to take the following actions:

 

- We will commit a minimum 25% of our annual income to both youth development and a facilities improvement project fund.

- We will re-introduce the standing order led “Pitch In” fund to top up our financial support to the club.

- We will communicate to the club the concerns of our members and offer our assistance to make tangible improvements.

- We will continue the pursuit of a supporters’ representative on the Club board

 

We firmly believe that this is what the Motherwell support, the club and wider community want for our Supporters’ Trust. However, to do all this we need now, more than ever, to encourage Motherwell supporters to step up to support the Trust. You can play a key role in developing the Trust and ensuring that we meet our new commitments. In order to deliver our actions for this season we need Motherwell supporters who can commit just two to three hours per month to an organisation which can make a real difference to our club and community. We would invite anyone who is interested in joining the board to email members@mstonline.net.

 

We are aware that the Trust has not fully delivered what we have promised in the past. We believe that with the new ambitious commitments that we have made we can become the best Supporters Trust in Scotland. To undertake the work that is required to achieve this goal we need a fully functioning board of 12 individuals or more. In the unlikely event that the Trust is unable to recruit the new board members required to drive the organisation forward then consideration will be given to what form the Trust will take going forward.