Hello Allan,

With football fixtures running out this season we want to make sure one of your own makes it into the diary. The Annual Conference will be taking place in Chester on Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th of July, and for the first time we will be combining it with the SD Cup which sees Chester FC play host to FC United.

We're not the only people that have been busy this month as you'll see from the monthly SD and Trust round up

SD Fans' Weekend, including the Annual Conference & SD Cup

The Supporters Direct Annual Conference and SD Cup will take place in Chester, on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th July 2011.

The Conference will be held at The Queen Hotel on the Friday and the SD Cup will form part of a Fans’ Day held on the Saturday at the Exacta Stadium, Chester FC.

Following on from 2010's event, we are hoping that this year's edition will be our most successful yet, and are sure that it has something for everyone. David Conn, David Goldblatt, senior figures from the Football authorities and much, much, more. You can take part in the whole 2 day event for just £37 early bird rates for members of a Supporters Trust or £42 for non-members, or pick and choose the bits you want.

Attractions for the Fans’ day will be stands, a marquee that will host the speakers for the day, a BBQ and the SD Cup between Chester FC and FC United.

We are delighted to confirm that our charity partner for this year's conference will be the Homeless World Cup. This is a unique social enterprise, aiming to end homelessness around the world. £1 from every ticket sold for the conference, comedy night and Supporters Direct Cup will be donated to this great cause.

Friday's Conference

We'll be launching two of our five 2011 working papers; 'Financing Community Ownership & Supporter Involvement' and 'Business Advantages of Supporter & Community Ownership'. These will be launched at the opening plenary and followed by two practical workshops.

The strand will be hopefully provide both inspiration to all supporters’ trusts and individuals that want to see a transformation of ownership both at their clubs and across the game.

There will also be four other strands, each with either one or two sessions. Full strand descriptions.

The day will finish with our Annual General Meeting.

Admission starts from £15, which includes a meal. If you also pay for the comedy night some food will be provided between the two events.

Full details or register.

Friday’s Comedy Night

The Comedy night will be headlined by Bob Mills, supported by Jeremy O’ Donnell.

It begins at 8pm finishing at 11pm. It will also take place at the Queens Hotel. Tickets a snip at just £12!!

Full details or buy ticket.

Saturday's Fans’ Day, including The SD Cup

Saturday sees the events move outside into the (hopefully) blazing July sun. Our marquee will be the hub for the day's events.

The SD Cup is a now-traditional friendly which will be contested between hosts Chester F.C and F.C United, two of the movement's leading lights.

Prior to the game, there will be a rally in the marquee, with keynote speeches from David Conn (The Guardian), David Goldblatt (author of The Ball is Round), Andy Walsh (General Manager of F.C United), Chris Pilsbury (Chester F.C Chairman), and more to be confirmed. There will also be a barbecue on site. The event will be compered by Jeremy O Donnell. Also in the marquee will be various stalls and it should have a licensed bar (TBC).

Following the conclusion of the game, we will return to the marquee for the presentation of the man of the match, bringing the curtain down on the weekend.

Full details or register

How can our Trust help to promote the event?

1. Make sure your members are aware. This means circulating the details of the event, in as many ways as they can. Newsletters, Message boards, Twitter, Facebook, word of mouth.

2. Make sure each online reminder contains a link back to the event page.

3. Mention the main attractions: David Conn, David Goldblatt, Mark Bradley, SD Cup.

4. Be sure to highlight the advantages of booking early.

5. Mention the event to any friendly local journalists or media types who might be interested in covering it.

6. Start now! The sooner people are aware of the event the more time they have to book the Friday off work, sort out accommodation (info on the SD website), etc. And keep reminding them!

Full details or register

Select Committee update

All the evidence submitted in writing to the committee has been made available

There was a fantastic reception from the Trust movement, with trusts or people associated with them submitting over half of the total evidence received. We've analysed all 85 submissions, and there's a clear trend. Over 80% of respondents think that clubs shouldn't be treated as if they were normal businesses, the same majority who agree the current governance structures of English football aren't fit for purpose and that there's too much debt in football.

SD gave evidence to the committee last week, alongside colleagues from the Football Supporters Federation. As the session was at Burnley FC's ground, they didn't have access to the usual facilities to stream footage of the proceedings. However, cameras were present, and the session will be uploaded to the committee's website in the near future, as will a transcript of our evidence.

Linked to the committee's works, we've commissioned two policy position papers that recommend options both for the Government and the football authorities. We will be launching them on May 11th in Westminster. We'll also be asking trusts who submitted evidence to send people along to lobby their own MPs first, and we'll be in touch about that very soon.

Supporters Direct Meets with Uefa in Nyon

Last week SD along with other supporters groups met with UEFA representatives to discuss a range of topics including the fan liaison position. UEFA President Michel Platini was at the meeting and declared that "the fans are football people – they represent football’s identity, both at national and club level"
Read more

Independent Examination service launched by SD

Following interest from the SD Christmas Survey we are happy to reveal that we are now offering an Independent Examination service to Supporters Trusts. The cost depends on the time it will take our Company Accountant to prepare or carry out the Examination

Read more

SD Governance

Following the conclusion of the election for places on the SD Scottish Council, we're now ready to launch the new Council covering England & Wales and Scotland.

Scotland

20 Trusts voted, a turnout of 77%. The results were as follows:

* As the number of votes received was tied, the allocation of candidates to serve for 3 and 2 years respectively was undertaken by the drawing of lots by a member of staff at Co-operativesUK, the umbrella body for all UK Co-operatives.

** As the number of votes received was tied, lost were drawn to determine which candidate would be deemed elected. The draw was undertaken by a member of staff at Co-operativesUK.

The Council will meet for the first time on March 28th.

England & Wales

2 nominations were received from three places, from Tony Taylor and Malcolm Turner. They will join the remaining 6 members of the Board representing English and Welsh trusts on the Council which mets for the first time on April 19th.

Rugby League Advisory Group

No nominations were received, and the board is in the process of co-opting members to this group.

News from the Trust Movement

K.H.I.S.T gain Board Place

Following a difficult period at the club Kidderminster Harriers Supporters Trust have secured an invitation for a fans representative to join the board of directors at the club. A Trust statement discussed the new partnership and said ‘We want the club to attain maximum possible success on the pitch but only within available and sustainable financial and human resources.’ Congratulations to KHST and good luck to Karl Davies in his role as Supporter Director.

Read more

The Beartown Trust (Congleton Town) gain Board Place

In addition to buying a 10% stake in the club the Trust have now accepted the Club’s invitation to take up a seat on the Board. A Trust statement said ‘this has given us the means to have a key voice in the future direction of the club and to ensure that the views of Supporters and the Local Community are both heard and taken into account’

Find out more about the role of Supporter Director on the SD WIKI

AFC Wimbledon fans say no to sugar daddy approach

This was one of the headlines from an ongoing process by the Dons Trust to determine the future model, direction and location of the club.

Read more

Forever Bury want you to drink their beer

Thought that might grab you! For the 7^th year the Forever Bury beer festival is taking place between the 24^th and 26^th of March. Over 50 beers and coders will be on offer as the Trust looks to raise more money to build on its 14% shareholding in the club. They’ve already raised over £9,000 in sponsorship and that’s before a drop of ale has been drank.
Read More

Fancy running your own, find out how Forever Bury does it on the SD WIKI

Brakes Trust (Leamington) launch Citizen of the Year Awards

Last month the Brakes Trust launched a new initiative, the Citizen of the Year Awards which is a competition to find the individual who has done most to brighten up the lives of people in the South Warwickshire area. The project will enable the Trust to engage with and reward the local community whilst raising the profile of the Trust.

Peter Bowen, Vice Chairman of The Brakes Trust said “We are looking for those people who we all rely on, who work behind the scenes, to make life comfortable and more enjoyable for others. They are the volunteers who do the unenviable or difficult tasks, and who are so important in making things happen when we are struggling to get through the week,”

Read more

And some more!

Wrexham Supporters Trust continue in quest for community ownership

Dorchester Town Supporters Trust release vision for the future of the Club

Cambridge Fans United answer questions about their bid for ownership

And finally…

In case you missed it watch again an uplifting feature on Football Focus last Saturday highlighting the revival of fan owned Chester FC and a crowd of nearly 2,000 against Salford City watching a 3-1 win.
Not bad when you compare that to 460 in their last match in the Conference before the supporters took control (fast forward to 21 minutes in)

If you want to see the story unfold in person make sure you get along to the Fans' Weekend on July 15^th and 16^th!