WHAT IF A SHAREHOLDING IS NOT AN IMMEDIATE POSSIBILITY?
Things change quickly in football and a Trust covers all the bases. Chesterfield thought they were going to have a long hard slog to get a small shareholding, and 6 days later they owned the club. Now, whilst not everybody will have the circumstances that they had at Chesterfield (Amen to that), they were able to act quickly and respond as the situation changed. A Trust means that should the position regarding shares change, you’re in place to respond. It also helps build the argument to force that change by saying that you are a constructive body, run by serious people who’ve got something to offer. In effect, a Trust without shares might look a lot like an ISA – it will be representing fans to the club, asking for changes here and changes there about bread and butter issues – ticketing, catering, away travel etc – but it can be much more than that. If the much more isn’t there yet, then there’s still no problem. There’s also more than one way to be involved. You can own property for
