Chelsea Supporters Trust - Launch Meeting February 9th 17.45

Fed up with Chelsea fans having no effective dialogue with the club? Frustrated that decisions that affect you are made with lit...

Fed up with Chelsea fans having no effective dialogue with the club?

Frustrated that decisions that affect you are made with little or no supporter input?

Want to be part of a democratically elected, fully accountable supporter’s organisation?

Well, now is the chance to do something about it. The Chelsea Supporters Trust has now done all the boring but necessary legal stuff and will be open for membership from Saturday 9th February (after the Wigan game). Aha, I hear you ask, why do we need a Trust when there are already a number of Chelsea supporters organisations?

We believe there are significant advantages to Trust membership, including:-

All members get the chance to democratically participate, with regular meetings, annual elections and one person, one vote built into the constitution (which has recently been approved by the Financial Services Authority) – thereby ensuring the elected board is held to account;
Members decide on Trust priorities and campaigns;
Membership is open to all supporters in the UK. Affiliation is open to all supporters groups as well as fanzines, websites, podcasts, blogs etc.;
There is a credibility that comes with being part of a wider, more powerful network of supporters trusts (most PL clubs have one) and the liaison with Supporters Direct;
The opportunity to actively hold the club to account with professional representation e.g. the opportunity to interpret and explain club accounts etc to members;
The opportunity to build close links with the local community (residents, businesses, charities, local authorities etc);
Regular communication with members through newsletters, social media etc. Social events (quizzes etc.);
The Trust has met with club executives and has already been granted membership of the Fans Forum from 2013/14. We will also be working to have a more effective, on-going, two-way dialogue with the club.

What does the Chelsea Supporters Trust aim to achieve?

Our current objectives include:-

Build better communication channels between club and supporters
Work to improve the reputation of the club with the media
Build an effective working relationship with the Supporters Liaison Officer;
Improve two way communication for the benefit of supporters and the Club and build effective relationships with other stakeholders, including the local community;
Actively promote sale of CPO shares to supporters;
To have an elected supporters’ representative on the CPO board;
To have an elected supporters representative on the board of Chelsea Football Club in the long term