Report of Trust meeting with BCAFC Feb 2025

March 7, 2025

In attendance from the Club were, Ryan Sparks (RS) – Club CEO

Representing the Trust was, Manny Dominguez (MD) – Chair & Carl White (CW)

 

Apologies were given from Paula Watson (PW), Director of Operations, Justin Bret (JB) – Trust Vice Chair, and Matthew Pickles (MP) also from the Trust.

 

Bantams Supporters Trust met with the Club on Monday 10th Feb. 

The last meeting with the Club was on the 18th of November 24, 3 months ago.

 

This meeting covered a lot of ground in all matters we wanted to know more about and there was more of a sense we felt part of a process. So, without further ado lets dive into it.

 

Season Tickets and Matchday tickets

The Club felt that they were not at a stage where they had come to an agreement about next year’s season ticket prices.

 

Like in November’s meeting, the Club reiterated their concern that there are challenging rising costs they must contend with, such as an increase in rates, utilities and minimum wage, National Insurance etc – overall between £350,000 and £400,000. For example when it comes to renewals, the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) who yearly provide safety licenses to stadiums charge a fee based on the capacity of the stadium. It costs £17,000 (a recent increase) and it was felt this is unfair and that the cost should be based on what the position of a club sits in the pyramid. This figure used to be less than £500.

 

Matchdays are dependent on season ticket holders, and the Club lost between 600 – 700 season ticket holders from last season. However there has been an increase in the numbers who buy match day tickets, largely due to the recent success of the team.

 

The Club said that it is committed to providing affordable season ticket prices and will consult the Trust and Supporters Board on its’ proposal for next season.

 

The Trust stated that it felt its free tickets to schools in disadvantaged areas of the city was commendable and its £3 for its community tickets to encourage a new generation of fans is excellent as well.

 

The Club talked about its Community Takeover, as part of the EFL’s Community Weekend, for the MK Dons game on the 22nd of Feb which will be in the TL Dallas (Bradford End) stand, but there would be lots of activities in the main (Morrison’s Family) stand. The Club are making a lot of effort to reach ‘the EFL Family Excellence status’ hoping to reach gold this year. 15 out of 92 EFL clubs will achieve Gold. Last year the Club achieved bronze. A ‘secret shopper’ takes a visit to make the judgment call. There has been an emphasis about trying to make family entrance clearer and the children’s areas more colourful and providing more kiosk options.

 

Matchday ticket prices

We asked about them as we mentioned that even at our level in League Two, away match prices are certainly creeping up well above £25 and nearing £30 at some.

 

Admin fee added to telephone sales

There was a feeling of inevitability from the Trust about the answer. When the admin fee came about there was quite a bit of disquiet about It. The Club response was that it should’ve been brought in in the summer, but technical issues delayed its’ implementation. Before they did this many fans were ringing up and not getting seen to. It was said most clubs already have a telephone admin fees now and Ticketmaster has taken up a very large part of the ticketing market. Even Wembley sells tickets via Ticketmaster.

 

Since the admin fee has been implemented, there has been a 50% drop in calls, but it means ticketing staff are answering more ticketing queries or calls regarding technical help rather than just selling tickets over the phone. Most supporters buy online now.

 

Atmosphere and examples at other Clubs

The Trust raised the issue about the atmosphere end in B block and asked if the Club could’ve consulted better. It was said that however the Club had consulted.

 

Newcastle was raised from the Trust viewpoint how the atmosphere section had done well at St. James’s Park, where flags were being waved all-round the ground at the start of a game against Bournemouth recently, and other Clubs have something similar. There was some good discussion around this, and it was concluded that every club has its fan culture – flags and banners and creating that fan ultra effect has largely come from mainland Europe where it is still cheaper to attend football at top level matches, and it is still being tested out a little in the UK. It will improve as more clubs implement railed seating, but football must remain affordable to the masses. It means that ordinary supporters (that want to create the most noise) don’t feel priced out. The Premier League must lead by example but by today’s standards it is going in the opposite direction in terms of ticket prices.

 

It has been over 25 years since fans have had the choice to stand at Valley Parade and most home regulars much prefer to sit, and the atmosphere comes when we win games, but when there is an atmosphere, it doesn’t always project to be audible in all areas of the ground. At Newcastle there is a choice of railed seating in the away end, high in the gods and for home supporters in the Gallowgate end where traditionally the atmosphere had come from.

 

Club Business Strategy (with regards to fan engagement)

We asked for an update on fans’ surveys, in particularly on how supporters feel after the game and feeling valued. The Club would get back to us on this.

 

Improving our structured dialogue / Fan Engagement

First, we looked at the Trust’s proposal – statement and additional wording and amendments to go on the Club’s Fan Engagement Plan (FEP) below.

 

The intention for this is for the Club to show equal parity between the Supporters Board and Supporters Trust when engaging with supporters’ groups. In the FEP the Club has a quote / statement from the SB Chair, has all the month in the year it meets with the SB and is included in in its consultation when it comes to ‘Heritage Assets’.

 

Trust proposed Chair quote /statement:

"Bantams Supporters Trust very much welcomes the Club’s Fan Engagement Plan. It shows the Club is committed to involving supporters in its development and growth as a football club, all of which continue to improve.

 

There has been a huge emphasis around fan engagement in recent years, and the fan-led review (a process of consultation with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) along with affiliate supporters’ trusts) was a prerequisite for an incoming Football Governance Bill.

 

We have gauged the Club’s views over recent years about the many key aspects of football such as FSA proposals within the Fan-Led Review, the Governance Bill, and national issues such as TV revenue and redistribution as well as, of course the concerns that affect Bradford City supporters.

 

We value the Club’s readiness to engage with us and we look forward to working closely on initiatives that bring supporters together and Bradford’s diverse community together to ever improve and enrich the Club’s fan engagement process."

 

Quarterly meeting arrangement

Also, in keeping with a quarterly arrangement of meetings with the Trust, it would be good to see that in writing on the FEP by adding February, May, August  and November for meetings with us on the Fan Engagement Calendar. Obviously, these are a guide and would be 'subject to change"

 

Additional proposed text amendment on Heritage Assets

On Heritage Assets, it says, "...will involve thorough consultation with the Supporters Board." If you can add, "...and Bantams Supporters Trust"

 

The Club said it would investigate getting these added.

 

What is Fan Engagement?

Supporter engagement is a means of giving fans a sense of being closer to the club. A close association encourages and strengthens loyalty. It is a term that has come to encompass everything a club does to communicate with its supporters.

 

Clubs will be required to publish a FEP on an annual basis which will be overseen by a senior Club official. This requirement builds on the work clubs are already undertaking with supporters including hosting two meetings or fan forums each season to get their views on key issues faced by supporters and clubs.

 

Stoke City’s FEP is the best example of a template all clubs should aim towards.

 

 

Other meetings the Trust would like to attend as part of a consultation process

The Trust explained that it is not always practical in getting a full picture of certain aspects of what the Club does where the Trust would feel the benefit in sharing ideas and feeling consulted at these structured dialogue meeting.

 

Governance meetings, which are monthly where we send a delegate to, shows good practice at involvement of groups in discussing Inclusion, Equality and Diversity ideas and Community events to attract new layers of supporters to watch City for example.

 

Other meetings we would like to attend on an ad hoc basis to see how things are moving and how we can add to the discussion are:

 

Restorative Justice, Crime Reduction, Police – we last met the Club on this specifically over 2 years ago.

 

Sustainable Football – environmental impact which should include improving public transport, encourage car sharing etc. and broadly speaking the Club reducing its carbon footprint and encouraging fans to do the same. Every year there is a Green Football Weekend.

 

Catering  – we last met Doug, from Tiffin’s on discussing options for supporters and prices over 2 years ago.

 

Mid-Year Fan Engagement / Consultation

We looked at an FSA model guidance paper to go carefully go through it, as it is this time of the year that our affiliate organization is gathering date ahead of its structured dialogue with the EFL.

 

The Trust feels it has:

  • A good day to day relationship with the Club
  • The Club has informal meetings with groups of supporters
  • It has the minimum of two fan forums
  • And has monthly meetings with the Supporters Board
  • Quarterly meetings with the Trust

 

The Trust has with the Club:

  • A Terms of Reference (TOR) for our quarterly Structured Dialogue meetings
  • A Memorandum of Understanding ready for when we feel it’s’ consultation process improves even more than it has.
  • The Trust feels the Club is making efforts to bring us on an equal par with the Supporters Board.
  • The quality of engagement and discussions are very good at our meetings.
  • The Trust publishes our reports for our structured dialogue meetings on our website and bring them to the attention of our members, by email and on social media, but it would be good for the Club to have some acknowledgement that a meeting has taken place with us and broadly what was discussed on its own website.

 

The Club says it will look to have something published as a record of meeting with the Trust.

 

Fans Forum on Radio Leeds

The Trust asked why the Club was set to have its Fans Forum not in front of fans especially when there had been a great improvement in form on the pitch, which had moved the attention away from perceived off the field issues.

 

The answer was that it was for continuity. It was done last season, and it had worked well it was said. There is going to be a forum in front of fans in the summer as there was last year, and that an in the studio forum on the radio gave an opportunity for fans to ask questions who may not have an opportunity to do so at a live open forum with supporters. It was added that it would be 2 hours long and would be published online.

 

Football Governance Bill Update

The FSA was at the heart of 2021’s Fan-Led Review of Football Governance which made a range of recommendations to strengthen the game’s governance – most notably the commitment to introduce an independent regulator. 

 

The Bill, which has cross-party is currently going through the ‘Lords’ at the moment, but the Club remain unconvinced the outcome will have the desired effect – that the Premier League will accept redistributing its wealth to help even out the wealth distortion that currently exists within the English football pyramid, and that there is a likelihood that there will be a watering down of the Bill.

 

The Trust feels that there may be an element of truth in this given the amount of ‘U’ turns the Labour government have done since being elected given what they campaigned for to the electorate before the election. It’s clear they are listening to big business more than its traditional voters.

 

The other aspect of this Bill was to seek legal ways of preventing Clubs from leaving the leagues to create a European Super League.

 

But we shall see what comes out. There may be some lobbying of MPs from supporters’ groups when the Bill reaches the ‘commons.

 

EFL Sky Deal

It was explained from the Trust, we and other supporters’ groups on the FSA’s EFL fans network are monitoring away ticket prices in conjunction with the rescheduling of matches.

 

The FSA’s recommendation for giving notice for rescheduling is 12 weeks, and Sky’s is a minimum of 4 weeks. In some instances, Sky is breaking their own commitment of notice. The reason the FSA’s recommendation is a much longer period is to take into consideration travel and hotel bookings when fans plan for away trips.

 

It’s clear that most fans prefer a 3pm Kick Off.

 

The Club said that it opposed the original fixture of a Doncaster Rovers away on a Monday evening.

 

Maintenance Costs

The Club said that maintenance costs are an on-going challenge. Although the stadium is modern, it is still over 25 years old and as a result needs on-going maintenance to the building. More than £70k has been spent on the pitch and drainage.

 

Ownership

The Club said that the rental cost is more than £500K, though there is sponsorship income from Flamingo Land. We discussed a hypothetical idea of fans raising part of the funds needed for the Club to own the stadium it outright. It was thought not to be viable.

 

Any Other Business

The electronic (LED) advertising hoardings situated behind the goal at the Bradford End were raised, because at the last game, there were many supporters who thought they were too bright, obscuring the goal-mouth action. They were previously in use at Fratton Park. It was said that they would pay for themselves as sponsorship partners would buy into them. The lighting was said to be turned down for the next game.

Total Amount Raised from Bucket Collection

May 23, 2025
On the 23 rd May the Club announced the total amount raised from the bucket collection before the last game of the season on the 3 rd May. Supporters donated an amazing £7,387.70 during the matchday bucket collection – almost double last year’s total – where volunteers gave up their time to help raise funds around Valley Parade ahead of the game against Fleetwood .  Those volunteers were you, who did an absolutely fantastic job! There were approximately 15 or so volunteers, mostly Trust members, but also from the Disability Club and Shipley Bantams. It is something that has been traditionally been done every year since the fateful tragedy and should be continued as a way of paying our respects to those who we should always remember. A phenomenal £18,580.74 has been raised for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit (PSBRU) since our game against Fleetwood Town. For more of a breakdown of what was raised when, please see the Club article here. The Trust would like to give a special thank you to all involved in the collection .

Fans Forum

May 22, 2025
There will be a Fans Forum at the Club on Wednesday 11 th June, where fans can ask questions to Chairman, Stefan Rupp, CEO, Ryan Sparks, First Team Manager, Graham Alexander, Head of Recruitment, Stephan Gent and Head of Football Operations, David Sharpe. The event is free but there is limited capacity of 450, and tickets will be available on a first come first served basis to fans that already have next seasons’ season tickets. It will be in the McCall and Hendrie suites, starting at 7pm. For more details and tickets here . Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Stories from Valley Parade Community Event June 22nd

May 22, 2025
Bantams Supporters Trust have been supporting a community project led by Chris Gaffney, a professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Bradford, with his team at the University of Bradford, by promoting a survey , City supporters have been asked to fill in that asks you about your best memories of being a City fan when you have been at Valley Parade. Your stories will come to life by local artists and shown through the University's immersive technology at an event at City on Sunday 22 nd June, from 10am till 2pm. “Using their technology and your stories, they will be making the unimaginable imaginable. Enter the immersive igloo, explore the digital copy of the University of Bradford Stadium and watch as supporters’ stories are brought to life by artists from across the city.” The survey is still live so if you haven’t taken part yet, now is your chance. Find out more about the day’s event and to register here .

Share Your Stories from Valley Parade for Virtual Reality (VR) Project

May 13, 2025
Were you at Valley Parade on the 3 rd May 2025 to witness incredible scenes of joy as Bradford City clinched automatic promotion in the 96 th minute? Was this your best and most memorable experience ever? We, as Bradford City fans are being asked to participate in telling our stories of being at Valley Parade by answering online survey questions about your experiences of Supporting City at Valley Parade. You can choose which questions you want to answer and your stories / memories can be told anonymously. The questions include sharing memories of their first Bantams match, most memorable game, how they started supporting the club, family members’ memories of following the Bantams, where they sit at the University of Bradford Stadium and what it means to be a Bradford City supporter. The stories will be shared with artists who will turn them into different art forms e.g. paintings, film, poetry. The different artists interpretations of the stories will be embedded into a digital copy of the stadium that Chris Gaffney, (Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Bradford) and his team are creating, and people will be able to explore using VR. There is an intention to embed the stories in the physical stadium that people will be able to access using a QR code when attending matches. They will be revealed during the Bradford 2025 City of Culture celebrations. The stories may also feature in a book being written to tell people about the different innovations that have been created by the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit as a result of fans donations. Any profits from the book will be go towards the future research of the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit. For further reading please go to the University of Bradford’s press release about the project. 

Voice of the Fans Exhibition

May 13, 2025
A new exhibition looking at fanzine culture in English football from the British Library and the Leeds Library service opened just recently on Friday 9 th May and runs until Sunday 10th August. The “Voice of the Fans” exhibition examines the world of long-standing – and some FSA award-winning – fanzines such our own City Gent, the Square Ball ran by supporters east of Pudsey, national indie title When Saturday Comes, and much more. Charting the rise of “fan self-publishing” from the 1960s into today’s digital-era, Voice of the Fans explores more than 60 years of fan-made media, with highlights from the collections of the British Library and Leeds Libraries – a period that has defined the beautiful game. Born out of the DIY ethos of the music and punk scenes, the raw creativity of football zines remains inspiring and relevant in today’s global game. The exhibition showcases fan-driven creativity from the UK and Ireland, and features some of the longest running and most influential football zines, alongside stories of well-known names who started their careers writing for these grassroots publications. 14 th June Show Our very own City Gent Editor, Mike Harrison will be among other writers and editors including Daniel Chapman of Leedsista and formerly The Square Ball, Felicia Pennant from SEASON Zine and Zoë Hitchen from Girlfans who will be discussing fan-driven publishing in the present moment, including its role in the wider media landscape, what it offers audiences, why it’s important and how it has endured despite changes in the globalised game. The discussion will be chaired by Ffion Thomas, Deputy Editor of When Saturday Comes and co-editor of Along Come Norwich zine. See more about this event here . This is part of the ‘Voice of the Fans’ Exhibition. The exhibition is free to all members of the public and there is no need to book in advance. “Voice of the Fans” will run at Leeds Central Library, Municipal Buildings, Calverley Street Leeds, LS1 3AB.

The Trust Always Remembers

May 9, 2025
Remembering the 54 Bradford City supporters and two Lincoln City supporters who went to watch a game of football but never returned home. We stand with everyone at the Memorial Service in Centenary Square and those that join us from all parts of the UK and the world to mark the 40th anniversary of the Valley Parade Fire Disaster.

Memorial Service on May 11

May 8, 2025
This Sunday, the annual memorial service will take place at the Bradford City Fire Disaster sculpture, in Centenary Square from 11am, marking 40 years of the anniversary. The service, jointly organized by Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Bradford City will be attended by relatives and friends of the 56 people who lost their lives and were affected in 1985, as well as Club and Council officials and members of the public. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Beverley Mullaney, will host a Civic Party from Lincoln who will also attend the service together, with City’s men’s first team players and staff in attendance alongside representatives from the Club, and from Lincoln City. The disaster claimed the lives of 54 Bradford City supporters and two travelling Lincoln supporters, injuring hundreds more, in one of the world’s most devastating sporting tragedies. Bantams Supporters Trust representatives will be laying a wreath on behalf of the Trust.

How we remember the events of 40 years ago

May 6, 2025
An article written four years ago, aimed at perhaps a younger audience of football fans, who may not be aware of the terrible tragedy witnessed at Valley Parade 40 years ago now, is a valuable educational resource. Written by Simon Lloyd of the online magazine www.joe.co.uk , he interviews Mohammed Ibrahim, who recalls his experience of the events of May 11 th , 1985. Simon Lloyd also interviews the Chair of Bantams Supporters Trust, Manny Dominguez how he remembers it too. The article features a short documentary called ‘Unheard Voices’, which is a series of interviews with Humayun Islam from Bangla Bantams, and others, predominantly from the Bangladeshi community who live in the locality around Valley Parade and how they remember too. You can see the article here .

The winner of the Young Player of the Year is...

May 1, 2025
We would like to thank all of you who voted for the Supporters Trusts’ Young Player of the Year 2024/25. They say that football is a game of two halves, and it is, but it needs to be said that our whole season has almost been like a season of two different ones. It was really our home record, a succession of 10 back-to-back home wins that began just before Christmas that propelled the Bantams into the position we are in today. And the future of where we are next season is still to be determined at the last match of what feels like a very long exhilarating rollercoaster ride for the long suffering fans. This season there has been a real team effort on the pitch, a team that has grown in confidence over the course of the season. Congratulations goes to the gaffer, Graham Alexander who picked up the EFL Manager of League Two, while the skipper, Ritchie Smallwood was named in the EFL League Two Team of the Season at the recent EFL awards. And well done to Ritchie Smallwood who picked up the Player of the Year Award from the Club’s main sponsor, JCT600, and most the supporters travel clubs, and from the team itself. Young Player of the Year The winner of the Trust’s Young Player of the Year is of course, Bobby Pointon! He was voted as Trust members’ Young Player of the Year for the second time running! We would also like to give a special thanks to Tony Deacon, who gave Bobby the award. Once again, a big thank you to all of you for taking part. You know who you are and we very much appreciate your involvement in this event and making it a success.

FSA Annual General Meeting Invite 2025

April 29, 2025
The role of supporters in our game is growing ever larger, and it is important that as many fans as possible get involved in fan-related activity both at a local and a national level. From ticket pricing to VAR, governance to broadcasting and fixture scheduling, there are issues in our game that need supporter input. It’s vital. If you have a keen interest in these areas, this is the perfect event to attend. The Trust are affiliate members of the Football Supporters’ Association, and therefore we would like to extend our invite to their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Manchester on Saturday June 14th. The FSA will be welcoming Martyn Henderson, the interim chief operating officer for the incoming independent football regulator (IREF), to discuss his work in building the organisation before the Football Governance Bill achieves royal assent later this year. The FSA will have representatives of PGMOL (Referee officials body) in attendance, as well as an opportunity to have a go at the VAR systems currently in place in the Premier League. As well as that, there will be workshops for members throughout the day on the following topics: Ticketing Supporter engagement Broadcasting/3pm blackout Fans for Diversity Women’s Voice in the Men’s Game Young supporters Governance and Finance in the Women’s game Football and the climate crisis The AGM will take place at Manchester Metropolitan University on Saturday 14 th June, starting at 10:00 am, finishing up at 5:00pm. You can register for the AGM here . More information can be found here .
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