Foxes Trust Reform

[Foxes Trust Reform]

As the game we love continues to change and evolve, it is clear that Supporters’ Trusts are to become increasingly important (as suggested in the 2022 report from the fan-led review of football). However, right at a time where LCFC seem to be taking decisions that do not recognise nor represent the views, desires and needs of its fans, the Foxes Trust is falling short.

It is clear that we need a strong Supporters Trust that can be a campaigning group: holding the club to account and being the voice of not just its own members but the wider fan base as well.

The Foxes Trust is a democratic organisation and registered with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) so there is an opportunity to change it into the organisation we as fans want it to be. In March, driven by some online and social media campaigns, around 150 of us signed up to do so. Before this influx of new members, the Trust had around 340 members. The membership has doubled since we started our campaign.

There are many good people in the Trust. Like all of us, they are passionate about the club and they have given a lot of their time voluntarily to keep the Trust functioning for over 20 years now. But it has also become apparent that they are too cosy with LCFC, they have been focused on representing only the views of their existing members and they are inefficient and cumbersome in how they operate.

Those already involved with our campaign will be aware of the four requests we made to the Trust:

1. To co-opt two new members onto the board to provide fresh impetus and additional helping hands to a leadership that expressed a need for support.
2. To share with all new members full visibility on the proposal for a Fan Advisory Board which is currently being discussed with the club and pause any agreement so that new members could provide input. We fear that what we do know about the current proposal makes it unfit for purpose and do not want the Trust to lose this once-in-a-generation opportunity to put something impactful in place.
3. To allow us to build and run the Trust’s end of season survey so that it could go to all fans, get more participation than previous versions and hold true weight with the club.
4. To, whilst recognising that the club cannot comment on the current PSR case, call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for future PSR compliance. This is to avoid a situation whereby another breach occurs and we, the fans, do not know who within the club is responsible for a failure in compliance.

We have been in communication with the Foxes Trust board for three months now. They have been slow to respond to us and are yet to directly address a single one of our four requests. More recently, they have offered us two places on Working Groups but this is a departure from previous discussions about the need for support at board level and will limit the positive impact that new joiners could have.

Our realisation is that any reform of the Foxes Trust will require a change of leadership. We have informed them that we intend to prepare a request for an EGM along with a resolution to change the leadership of the Trust. It is important to note, there are some existing Foxes Trust board members doing some valuable work and we hope that they will choose to continue in their roles and work with us but recent communication tells us that there are some board members resistant to change and this is holding the Trust back.

Having shared this with the wider Leicester City fan base a couple of weeks ago, we have been blown away by the support and positivity we have received. Tomorrow night (Wednesday 5th June) at 8pm we are hosting an online Zoom session to share:

• Our vision for the Foxes Trust (what we believe it can become and what it can achieve)
• The roles and responsibilities that will need filling on a new Trust board so that those who would like to take a more active role can express interest in doing so
• The discussions we are having with other Trusts to learn how they operate and how the Foxes Trust compares
• Visibility on progress (or lack of) thus far with the existing Foxes Trust board
• Timelines and action plan for the period of time leading up to the EGM

We are working hard to ensure we set in place the right plan and the right structures for the Trust to represent all fans and hold the club to account. Come and be a part of positive change for us all as Leicester City fans!

To show your support, please simply email “count me in” to [email protected] so that we can keep you updated on our progress.

Dial-in details for the Zoom session tomorrow are as follows:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83339801918?pwd=ysxJ9s0ByV6107esNaDtacHakj3QFA.1

Meeting ID: 833 3980 1918
Passcode: 843562

Together, we will make this happen!

 

[Foxes Trust Reform]

For those who were unable to make our Open Session last week, we’ve put together a short <5-minute explainer video detailing our campaign so far and our next steps in preparation for an EGM.

We encourage those in support of our campaign, that haven’t already done so, to email “count me in” to [email protected]