Posted on 20th September 2021
Swindon Town are the latest club to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their supporters, after forming an agreement with TrustSTFC.
Bristol City – fans and club sign agreement
Bristol City are the latest club to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their supporters after forming an agreement with Bristol City Supporters Club & Trust.
The agreement, which also covers Bristol City Women, formalises the commitment to dialogue between the club and its supporters’ trust. It also commits the club to two fans forums a year and guarantees that major changes at the club, such as ground moves, will be discussed with the trust.
Bristol City chief executive Richard Gould said: “I want to make sure we can keep our supporters engaged and involved as the club continues to grow and make progress.”
MOUs help formalise the relationship between a fan group and their club, setting out key terms of reference for how the club engages with its supporters on a formal basis, and are a tool that has been used by many supporter groups on the back of government recommendations to improve dialogue between football clubs and their fanbase.
Chair of the Supporters Club & Trust Stu Rogers said: “Signing an MOU is a really great step forward and builds on the recent good progress and positivity.
“It’s a formal agreement between the supporters and the football club that sets out a framework for continued structured dialogue and transparency. We’d like to thank everyone involved for making this possible, including the Football Supporters’ Association for their valuable input.”
The FSA’s Deborah Dilworth, network manager (EFL) and women’s game development, said that Bristol City were the 12th club to sign an MOU with their supporters’ trust and the first to distinctly include their women’s team in its scope.
“This is a brilliant step forward not only for the trust, who recently appointed two women’s game reps to their board in Shahan Miah and D-M Withers, but also for the club in recognising that supporters of the women’s game are as important and valued,” said Deborah. “I hope this is the first of many MOUs in relation to the women’s game.”
Bristol City are the latest to create an MOU in the EFL following on from Swindon Town and Bolton Wanderers who recently reached similar agreements with their fans.
