An anniversary and a new focus
February 2027 marks the 25th anniversary of the Canaries Trust. How sad that we will celebrate it without Michael Wynn Jones, who, along with Delia Smith, was a key figure in its creation.
The Trust, which is run by volunteers, was launched in 2002 with an objective of obtaining enough shares in the Club to get a supporter representative on the board, something which gradually became increasingly unrealistic.
By the second decade of this century, it became clear that for the Trust to avoid becoming irrelevant it would need to diversify, particularly in terms of holding the Club to account on issues affecting fans, something that has become more and more central to its day-to-day activities.
Ironically, we are now in a position similar to the one that our predecessors envisaged in terms of having access to the Club at boardroom level. That has resulted in some significant achievements, most of which have gone under the radar, simply because they have come about through constructive dialogue rather than constant criticism and sabre-rattling.
That in turn has led to accusations of ‘being in bed with the Club’, despite the Trust’s independent status, but there is a massive difference between being respected and being subservient.
Now, with the Football Governance Act making engagement with democratically elected supporter organisations a licensing condition for clubs, the Trust is entering a new phase. We will be relaunching with a new look to tie in with the anniversary, and to provide a home for all fans who want to have their say on how the Trust and the Club are run. Obviously, some people will wish to interact with the Club directly when they have an issue, but others may prefer to do so through an organisation that has access to the Club at multiple levels.
The Trust has also increased its work with charities in recent years, particularly the Community Sports Foundation and local foodbanks, as well as developing a community of many of the previously discrete international fan groups.
Considering the recent talks with Hugh Jackman, we expect the current owners to be proactive in growing the club’s global profile. The Trust already has excellent relationships with many international fan groups and wants to help our club to expand its reach and extend the sense of belonging to ‘exiled’ fans across the globe by bringing these previously discrete groups closer together. We also want to work in harmony with any and all existing NCFC-related groups, organisations and content providers.
Our charitable work will now increase significantly with the sale of the majority of the Trust’s shareholding to Norfolk Group in order to create a six-figure fund which will be used to finance projects for the benefit of the Norwich City community. These are decisions that should involve the wider fanbase, and we have a collective responsibility to make Norwich City as welcoming, approachable and non-discriminatory as possible.
We want members to have a voice in what the Trust is and how it operates. We are actively looking for volunteers who would like to help us shape the future direction of the Trust, especially in the areas of youth engagement, audio/video content and eCRM/database management.
With that in mind, we will be offering a limited free membership option for those who simply want to be able to give their opinion on issues and join in with the community, while retaining a paid version which will go towards our running costs for those who would like additional membership benefits such as free admission to events, special prize draws and the right to vote at AGMs, among other things.
There is much to do between now and February, but if you are interested in helping us build the new Trust then drop us a line at contact@canariestrust.org.
Robin Sainty – Chairman
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