Trust News

Picture: Richard Swingler, Courtesy of Media Wales

FIGURINES of the Fred Keenor statue that will stand proudly in front of the Cardiff City Stadium have been made by artist Roger Andrews.

Five specially numbered pre-production miniatures will be sold separately by auction to raise money for the statue appeal. No 1 will be sold at the fundraising evening starring Ricky Tomlinson on Thursday, September 16th. City manager Dave Jones will also take part in a question and answer session with guests at the Cardiff City Stadium on the night.

The rest of the figurines, which stand 10 inch high and cost £39.99, are available at the Cardiff City Stadium Club Shop  and can also be purchased at the fundraising message-boards football match on Sunday, August 22, at the Under-16s pitch opposite the stadium.

More information on obtaining the miniatures can also be obtained by contacting Fund Press Officer Phillip Nifield on phillip.cattwg@btinternet.com.

David Craig, project manager for the scheme who is also a board member of the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, said: “We are delighted with the quality of the figurines and we are sure that fans will feel the same. You really have to see them at first hand to appreciate how good they are.

“We’re sure they will prove very popular and expect them to be snapped up quickly. We have only ordered a limited number and we hope many people may take the opportunity to buy them as early Christmas presents for their loved one’s.”

Roger Andrews, who has been commissioned to create the statue, also produced the statue of Sir Tasker Watkins outside the Millennium Stadium.

Donations to the appeal fund can be made through the Co-operative Bank:Account name: –   Fred Keenor Statue Fund or FKSFAccount no 65392368 Sort Code     08-92-99.Cheques can also be sent c/o CCST to PO Box 4254, Cardiff, CF14 8FD. Please add the words “Fred Keenor Appeal” on the top of the envelope.
Football Match

A football match between supporters who use Annis Abraham’s Message Board (AAMB) and those that post on Mike Morris’ board (CCMB) in aid of the Fred Keenor Statue Fund Appeal kicks off at 2pm on Sunday, August 22, on the under-16’s pitch at Leckwith, opposite the Cardiff City Stadium. Team photographs will be taken at pitch side at the stadium at 1pm with the sides having use of the changing rooms. The presentation of trophies and a raffle draw will take place after the game.

Statue fund project manager David Craig said: “We want to thank those that have put a great deal of work into this match. We hope that other supporters will follow her lead and organise their own events – it can be a jumble sale, coffee morning, whatever you want to do.”

A footballing friend once said to me that the world is perfect at five to three on a Saturday afternoon.  After that, well, anything can happen.

And would we wish it any other way?  Not on your life! So here we go for another nine months of football highs and lows with the City. Whatever happens on the pitch, one thing you can be sure of is that the Supporters’ Trust will be doing all it can to ensure that we, the fans, have as much input as possible into the club.  More than 900 supporters have joined the Trust so far and widening our membership base and getting everyone involved is a priority this season.

So what did we achieve in our first full year at the new stadium?  Firstly, we got the club to drop the cost of the pre-season friendly tickets and reduce the price of beer at the stadium.  We’ve dealt with queries about parking permits, stewarding concerns, ticketing issues and allocation and eventually got the club to fit mirrors in the ladies’ toilets!

We have been very busy on the social and community front.  At the start of last season, we conducted research into attitudes of local people to the City. We presented our findings to the club and community groups. We found that many people support the City but rarely come to matches. Families particularly cited foul language and bad behaviour as a problem. Following the research, the Trust has brought many  different groups into the stadium to watch matches and try to get people living around the stadium more involved with the club.  The Trust was represented at the local Diwali celebration and we also had a stand at the Grangetown Festival where we were able to fly the flag for the City.

We have held a community five-a-side competition, a quiz and a question and answer session with Andy Legg and Jason Perry.  Leggy’s tales of what really goes on inside the dressing room were really worth hearing!  In May we visited Maesteg to celebrate 50 years of the Maesteg Bluebirds.  Well done lads.

During the year we organised a session at a Cardiff school to discuss anti-social behaviour at football matches.  We even got ourselves an international branch of the Trust as we joined the British Council in welcoming a group of Kenyan ‘active citizens’ to the stadium.  They were very impressed by the work the club’s Football in the Community team is doing.

The success of our first 18 months of operation has been recognised by Supporters’ Direct, the umbrella organization for supporters trusts in Britain. Geraint Jones and I were invited to speak at the annual conference to share our experience with other football fans.

Looking forward, we will be helping the club to build a memorial garden at the stadium. This will be a quiet area where we can remember our loved ones who can no longer be with us in person to cheer on the lads.  It’s an ambitious target but the club hopes to have the garden completed by November.

The Trust has kick-started the appeal for a statue of one of our all time greats, Fred Keenor, to be erected outside the ground.  We have already had around £27,000 pledged and are working hard to raise the rest of the money.

The Trust has developed strong links with the club over the last year and we can now put your questions directly to the Chair and Chief Executive.  There are no secrets between the Trust board and the members – anything the club tells us, we tell you. TG and Gethin Jenkins are both committed to the City long term and want to improve the dialogue we have started with them. We now have a schedule of meetings planned with the club – so keep those questions coming – be they about the Club’s finances, the price of a hot dog or policing. If the Trust is to be the voice of the supporters, we need you to speak up.

The Trust Board does its best to keep everyone informed of what we are doing – the website has all the latest news and we are now emailing members on a regular basis.  We are keen to hold more events outside of Cardiff and already have plans for social evenings in the Valleys.  Keep an eye on the website for details of these events. But the Trust will only be as good as its members so please have your say and get involved. ‘Mewn undeb, mae nerth’ – we are stronger together than as individuals.

C’mon City!

Tim Hartley

Chair

The bucket collection at the Sheffield United game raised £1,158. We wanted to thank everyone once again for their generosity.

While not as much was raised as at the Leicester Play-Off game, it should be pointed out, for example, that there were far fewer fans enjoying hospitality on Levels 3 and 4 and donations there were only one-third of the Leicester game.

In addition, we sold 63 Fred Keenor pin badges at the Trust stand, bringing in another £189. There are only a handful left so more have been ordered. Quite a few fans have also ordered badges by post.

We are also awaiting confirmation from Cardiff City of the exact money raised from the Deportivo La Coruna game – £1 was being donated from every ticket sold.

Just to remind everyone we have quite a few fundraisers coming up over the next couple of months including:

• Messageboard football match on Sunday, August 22^nd.
• Special 10-inch miniature figurines will be on sale very shortly.
• Ricky Tomlinson fundraiser at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday, September 16^th which includes an auction and raffle.
• City fan Matthew Bullock is running the Toronto marathon in October.

There is a festival next Saturday August 14th at Riverside – as it’s holiday time and City are playing Derby away I am struggling for volunteers (I have some but not enough).

If any of you could help out – even if only for a few hours – please e-mail me at community@ccfctrust.org

Thanks Tracey

Just a reminder that  a bucket collection in aid of the Fred Keenor Statue Fund Appeal will be held before Sunday’s season opener against Sheffield United.

Collectors for Bring a Pound to the Groundwill be at the ground from 11am until 10 minutes before kick-off (allowing the volunteers time to get to their seats before kick-off).

There’s still time to volunteer as a collector: Contact David Craig on d.craig43@ntlworld.com or call 029 2063 6637