Posted on 7th January 2022
The Football Supporters’ Association is sorry to hear the news that Peter Pike, chair of Clarets Trust (Burnley), passed away during the Christmas period. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Peter’s will have been a familiar face to those on the FSA’s Premier League Network as he represented the Clarets Trust for many years at meetings with fellow supporters’ groups and the Premier League.
Like many volunteers from supporters’ organisations Peter had a long and devoted history with his club, and a rich life, with interests and experiences which extended way beyond football.
Clarets Trust vice chair Terry Hephrun tells us more:
“Peter was born on 26th June 1937 and started supporting the Clarets in 1946-47 – the first season after the war when Burnley won promotion to the old First Division and also got to Wembley in the FA Cup final. He supported the team in the very good days and also the very gloomy days.
“He joined the Clarets Trust on the night it was formed and became a board member on retiring as MP. In 2005 he also became chair of the trust. In Parliament, he had been secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Football Group. He believed that Burnley Football Club is of great importance to Burnley as a whole and firmly puts the town on the map.
“He was the MP for Burnley from 1983 to 2005 and prior to that he was leader of Burnley Borough Council. In December 2013, his role in the Anti-Apartheid Movement was praised in Parliament during tributes to former-president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. He maintained links with South Africa via the Ottery Project and sent many hundreds of Burnley strips over to them.”
Peter’s funeral will take place on Thursday 13th January with a service at Burnley’s St Peter’s Church (10.30am) followed by committal at Burnley Crematorium (12.15pm) – more details here.
RIP Peter Pike (1937-2021)
The FSA was very sorry to hear of the tragic passing of Manchester United supporter Ian Stirling this weekend. Ian played a huge role at Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), was always a friend to the FSA and, most importantly, he was a great guy.
It is with sadness that we learnt of the death of Tranmere Rovers Supporters’ Trust chair Ben Harrison. A long-time friend of the FSA and someone who gave countless hours of his time to help others, Ben will be sorely missed by those who knew him.
It was with sadness this weekend that we learnt of the death of Steve Powell – longtime supporter activist and friend of the FSA. Born in 1956, Arsenal fan Steve was a former staff member for the Football Supporters’ Federation (one of our predecessor organisations) and founder-member of Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association (AISA).
The Government is facing growing calls from National League clubs to provide ongoing pandemic support in the form of grants, rather than the loans that have been promised under the Government’s Sports Winter Survival Package. Rather than become further indebted to play matches behind closed doors, there’s a growing fear that clubs could refuse to complete the season at the top levels of non-league as a result.
