Press Release Article

Friday 10th January 2003: Fans look to United Trust for a lead in battle for a say in their clubs

FANS of some of Carlisle United's rival clubs are looking to the Cumbria and Carlisle Independent Supporters Trust (CCUIST) for advice as to how they can successfully launch their own Trusts. This Saturday United fans will attempt to make it third time lucky by holding a march before the Leyton Orient game to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the continuing crisis at the club under the current ownership and to show prospective buyers what potential support there would be under new owners.

CCUIST secretary Alan Steel said the march, postponed when the freeze hit matches against Darlington and Torquay United, would now go ahead this Saturday, assembling at 1 45 in the Sands car park in front of the Turf Inn for a prompt start at 2 o'clock. He said that, in the past couple of weeks, supporters at York City, Swansea and Wrexham had either been in touch for advice about how to establish a successful Trust, or had actually launched their Trusts based on what has been achieved at Carlisle.

"Few aspects of professional football in the county have given Cumbrians cause for pride over the last few years. However the Supporters' Trust's size, organisation and financial muscle, is admired by other clubs around the country and held up by Supporters Direct, the Government sponsored organisation which promotes the establishment of Supporters' Trusts, as a shining example of what can be achieved by determined and well-organised supporters," said Mr Steel.

York City, currently up for sale, are the latest Third Division club to face the threat of resignation from the league if no new deal is done by the end of the season. And when United visited Swansea for a league game before Christmas there was clear unrest amongst home fans over the ownership of the Welsh club.
Mr Steel said the achievements of CCUIST "have not gone unnoticed" amongst those interested in acquiring United and all the prospective purchasers had kept in close contact with a view to ensuring the involvement of supporters once the ownership changes. The Trust's objectives are, under new ownership, to achieve a shareholding for fans and permanent representration on the board of the club.

"In return the Trust will introduce its resources into the club in a controlled way to ensure that it thrives," said Mr Steel. "The change in ownership at Carlisle can not be far away and when it happens the supporters will be involved at board level so that there can be no repetiton of the events of recent seasons."