SPION KOP 1906 CLUB LAUNCH

Hull City Supporters’ Trust is proud to announce the formal launch of its heritage project to unearth and preserve the UK’s only surviving unchanged football supporters’ open terrace of its era, actually constructed a short period ahead of its famous namesake on the other side of the Pennines!

Investigative work has already commenced to establish the viability of the Spion Kop’s rear concrete wall prior to the ground clearance to remove sixty years of mother nature hiding what structurally remains of Hull City’s original Anlaby Road ground dating back to 1906.

Lead Project Director, Chris Smith said, “The Trust is set to apply to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a significant grant towards what might well be a million pound project, including access walkways, signage, lighting, seating and landscaping.”

Nick Thompson, Chairman of the Trust added, “We are now appealing to Hull City supporters to back this passion project by becoming members of the Spion Kop 1906 Club to raise the necessary target to match the Heritage Fund’s support. The Trust has received generous support, in kind, from the football club but it’s the individual supporters and the local business community that we are relying on to kick the project towards the final whistle.” 

All Spion Kop 1906 Club members will have their name and/or that of their ancestors’ cut out of the metal non-slip treadplate “Walk of Legends” to be a permanent recognition of their support in perpetuity.

The Supporters’ Trust is honoured to acknowledge Councillor Mike Ross as the inaugural member of the Spion Kop 1906 Club. Not only has Hull City Council facilitated a lease for the land containing the project but the Leader’s Contingency Fund has made the first significant contribution towards the Trust’s eventual target. 

Councillor Ross will be presented with a life membership of the Trust plus a memento plaque of his name that will feature on the laser cut “Walk of Legends” that will eventually lead to the preserved Spion Kop.

https://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/join/spion-kop-sign-up/

https://www.wearehullcity.co.uk/news/2024/november/01/spion-kop-1906-club-launch-

SPION KOP 1906 CLUB. LEAVE YOUR MARK ON HISTORY

The Hull City Supporters’ Trust (HCST) invites you to join us in celebrating Hull City’s rich football heritage. We are excited to announce the Spion Kop 1906 Club, a fundraising initiative to honour the iconic Spion Kop End at Hull City’s original Anlaby Road ground.

As the UK’s last remaining example of an original football supporters’ open terrace of its era, the Spion Kop is significant to fans and our sporting history.

After being forgotten for decades, this historic site is set for revival during Hull City’s 120th Anniversary year.

With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we aim to secure a grant of up to £1,000,000. To qualify, we must raise 10% of the matched funding—an ambitious target of £100,000.

By joining the Spion Kop 1906 Club, you can help preserve this vital piece of football history. Your name will be etched onto the path leading to this site, ensuring your contribution is remembered for generations.

Support our mission to conserve the Spion Kop and create a memorial celebrating the camaraderie of football fans. Together, we can honor our shared legacy.

Join us today and leave your mark on the Walk of Legends!

https://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/join/spion-kop-sign-up/

Spion Kop Anlaby Road – Our Sporting Heritage

A Birth of The Tiger Nation

Usually when football and rugby grounds are demolished, little or no physical traces survive, so the rediscovery of remnants of Anlaby Road’s Spion Kop is of genuine interest and importance in terms of our wider national sporting heritage. This is especially so given that the ‘football terrace’ – that is, the mound or slope upon which millions of fans stood upon for their thrills, spills and companionship – represents, arguably, one of the great cultural icons of 20th Century life in Britain… “

Simon Inglis

The UK’s renowned expert,  author and lecturer on  sports architecture.

https://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/join/spion-kop-sign-up/

FSA Launches New Women’s Game Strategy

We are at a pivotal point in the women’s game, and the launch of the FSA’s Women’s Game Strategy aims to cement supporters at the heart of the positive changes that are happening throughout women’s football.

To read more about  the new FSA Women’s Game Strategy 2024-2027 please follow this link.

Make your Voice Heard!!

The Football Governance Bill is progressing through Parliament and there is a lot to celebrate – if this legislation passes it will create an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) which can protect our historic football clubs and ensure long-term financial stability across the game.

The IFR will have powers to intervene when bad owners threaten a club’s very existence but that’s not all – the IFR will also improve club heritage protections, formalise and strengthen supporter engagement while preventing domestic clubs from joining a European Super League or similar breakaway competition in the future.

This whole process was kickstarted by the threat of six top-flight clubs breaking away to form their own closed shop league and the regulator is still needed to give supporters a voice in running the game. Where will things go without us having a real say? See the speculation about Premier League games in the US for a possible example.

The Hull City Supporters’ Trust has supported The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) in working with the Government and opposition parties to ensure this bill is a landmark moment for English football and they’re calling on fans to contact their MP and confirm that they will vote in favour of the Football Governance Bill.

How do I contact my MP and what do I say?

MPs are more likely to engage with personally written emails from their constituents but, if you don’t feel confident doing that, you can use this template letter. Remember to be polite, and include the club you support, as well as your address. While it’s better to contact MPs via email we realise some people will prefer to use Twitter – tag @WeAreTheFSA as we’d be interested to join in those discussions.

While the number #1 priority is to call for MPs to support the bill some supporters and MPs might have more detailed discussions to consider further amendments to strengthen the legislation even further – if that applies to you or your supporters’ group this FSA briefing looks at suggested amendments to the bill.

Image ©UK Parliament/Maria Unger

2024/25 Match Ticket and Membership Price Increases

The Trust is well aware of the careful, not to say, agonising consideration that has been given by the Club prior to today’s announcement of prices for watching the Tigers next season. Against a backdrop, nationally, of raging inflation since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and huge increases announced by certain other clubs, there is a general increase of just under 15%. This is the first increase in the two years since the change of ownership and it follows reductions in prices two seasons ago. 

A full price membership in the highest price category, Zone 3, equates to less than £21 per home game over the 23-match season. A senior member in the same zone pays just over £13.50 per match. To some, the introduction of a charge for under 10s might be unwelcome, but this equates to only £1.83 per match. The new prices compare very favourably with many other clubs in all divisions of the EFL and in lower leagues.

The Trust respects and supports the need for these modest price increases and urges all supporters to do the same. We’re all part of One Family, One Dream.

Chris Stern

Chair

Hull City Supporters’ Trust

FSA Representatives meet with PGMOL

It seems hardly a weekend passes without a referee or VAR decision coming under intense media scrutiny and, as supporters, we’ve all experienced decisions involving our team with which we disagreed.

However, the FSA (Football Supporters’ Association) is very keen to develop dialogue between referees and supporters so that we all understand each other a little better. From the FSA’s point of view, it’s a good thing if those at the top of the game – be they club officials or refs – know where fans are coming from.

That’s taken some good steps forward in recent seasons and, in the men’s game, our supporter representatives regularly meet with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited aka PGMOL.

Only last month the FSA announced the creation of a new working group to explore ways in which fans can learn more about refereeing and decision-making and it is hoped that this will support a more transparent and open view of refereeing in the professional game.

So, we were very pleased that HCST Secretary, Peter Tarbitten, was asked by the FSA to represent Championship supporter groups in attending a recent PGMOL referee camp as an observer. The event was a full day session at Loughborough University for Premier League and Championship referees and reflected a normal training day that the referees regularly attend.

 Also in attendance were Jane Hughes (FSA EFL Network Manager), Thomas Concannon (Premier League Network Manager), Joe Blott (Spirit of Shankley) and Neil Dady (Wolves 1877 Trust).  

After the sessions, we caught up with Peter to get his view of the day.

HCST: What’s the thinking behind this meeting with PGMOL?

Peter: It’s an introductory meeting as every FSA Network gets a chance to understand training and development for referees and PGMOL in order to pass that info onto members. There’ll be a number of these and it’s an opportunity to understand things from the referee’s perspective. To humanise them. It was really good to be able to interact with over 70 referees and assistants from the top 2 leagues in the country.

HCST: What did you expect?

Peter: I didn’t know what to expect to be honest but the dedication, the training, and the preparation… I wasn’t prepared for that level but once they started it was such an eye opener. There were different workshops throughout the day on a variety of subjects. One was a dissection of recent decisions made by the officials to see if the right call had been made and why a particular decision was made. Another looked at the teamwork between the 4 officials (and sometimes VAR) to see where mistakes were made and lessons could be learnt.

Another one dealt with the body language of the officials. Obviously, the players can hear what the referee is saying but the crowds can’t and they rely a lot on their body language, so it is very important.

The whole day revolved around how to ensure that the referees are at top fitness and for them to continually learn and improve.

There were a lot of things that, despite having attended games and watched them on the TV for over 50 years, I hadn’t even thought about in relation to how they’re reacting to the game. The fact that, during a normal 90-minute game, the referee has to make close to 300 decisions I found quite astonishing, and I no longer watch a game in the same way!

I think every fan should have the opportunity to understand that – it could be a documentary series.

The FSA will continue to work closely with the PGMOL but it is essential that we understand what the general supporter would like to see us discussing, so if anyone, especially supporters of Championship clubs, has any thoughts that they’d like to share with me, I would ask them to send them to me by clicking the following secretary@hullcityst.com.

How About Starring in a Sky Sports Advert?

Calling all Hull City Fans…..


The club have asked us to publicise the opportunity for Hull City fans to take part in a Sky Sports advert for the Championship Play-Offs.


They are looking for fans of all ages to take part and, if you think you’ve got what it takes, then this is all you need to do:


Just send a headshot of yourself along with a recorded video of you & either friends and family singing the famous Wembley song ‘We’re going to Wembley / Que Sera Sera” to Hannah.campbell@sky.uk


If you are successful, Sky will be in touch.

Good Luck!!

HCST Election of New Board Members

We are pleased to announce that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Hull City Supporters’ Trust will take place towards the end of April – the exact date will be communicated later.

Due to the 3-year tenure of 2 members of the Board coming to an end, as well as a proposed reorganisation of the roles and responsibilities of Board Members, we have a number of Board positions to fill.

Any fully paid-up member aged 16 or over can be considered for nomination and we would be especially interested in hearing from members of all ages. All prospective candidates will need to be nominated by 2 other fully paid-up members. It is recommended that any members potentially interested fully read and understand the Trust Election Policy, (available via our website), and pay particular attention to points 13-22 of that Policy.

Over the last 12 months, the Trust has started to build a strong relationship at all levels within the club and our current initiatives of the Anlaby Road Tribute (ART) project and the Tigers for Turkey – Fill the MKM Appeal, are supporting our commitment as a Community Benefit Society.

The positivity around the club, both on and off the pitch bodes well for the future, so if you feel you have the desire and capabilities to enhance the Board and drive HCST and our members to greater heights, then please get involved.

We welcome applications from all Members (and any current non-Members)  fulfilling the criteria above and wishing to take an active role in one of the many sub-groups we have in place working on our key areas of focus and development.

The Election Nomination form can be accessed via the link here for the PDF version,  and needs to be received by our Secretary by Friday 16th March 2024 (so you have plenty of time to consider applying).

Should anyone wish to receive further details of, or discuss the role and activities as a Trust Director, then please drop an e-mail to the Trust Secretary   (secretary@hullcityst.com ) who will be more than happy to help you.

Yours sincerely

Peter Tarbitten

Secretary – Hull City Supporters Trust

HCST Fundraiser Postponed

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the fundraiser event planned for Friday, 9th February 2024.

Full refunds will be issued in the next few days and we will be in touch once we have been able to arrange an alternative date.

In the meantime, we would like to thank you for your ongoing support and ask you to continue following the progress of our Tigers for Turkey Fundraiser and our key heritage project The Anlaby Road Tribute Project.

Join us in the Hall of Fame as we Launch our Heritage Project with Hull City Legends

Following the announcement of Hall of Fame inductee and all time Tigers legend, Ken “Waggy” Wagstaff attending our forthcoming heritage project launch and fundraiser, we are proud to announce the attendance of another Hall of Fame inductee who will join us on Friday, 9th February in the Kingston Suite at the MKM Stadium.

Garreth Roberts, inducted to the Tigers Hall of Fame in 2021, will join Hull City Supporters’ Trust as a special guest for the official launch of the heritage ART Project.

Come and join us for a fun evening, hosted by David “Burnsy” Burns, including the following:

Official Launch of the HCST Heritage ART Project

An auction of memorabilia with our guest auctioneer, former Tiger, John Hawley

A chance to meet and hear from 2 Hall of Fame inductees.

A sit down meal to sample the, now, country wide renown Hull City Street Food

Tickets are available on the Eventbrite site by following this link.

£20 for HCST members and £30 for non-members (incl. a 1-year membership)

Details of the Tigers for Turkey Fundraiser can be found here.

HCST Stand beside Reading Fans

Hull City Supporters Trust stands in solidarity with the supporters of Reading FC and all fans who have seen their clubs badly damaged by inappropriate or incompetent ownership.

As Tigers fans we have had our fair share of incompetent ownership; we too came perilously close to losing our club. Remember, also, that the current Reading owners were the preferred buyers proposed by our previous owners – how lucky are we to have dodged that bullet and ended up with the current owners?

In the 16th minute of games on Friday and Saturday, fans of all clubs are encouraged to stand and clap in solidarity with Reading and show the EFL that football fans stand together. Reading has been docked 16 points by the EFL due to the appalling actions of the owner. Once again it is the club and the fans that suffer from the actions of bad owners.

We are asking all members of the #OneFamily to stand and clap at Sunderland in the sixteenth minute on Friday. Reading fans deserve better. Football fans deserve better. Football is not just any business, it lies at the heart of communities.

#HullCityST #hcafc #SellBeforeWeDai

Tigers Legend is Our First Guest

We are delighted to announce that Tigers legend, Ken “Waggy” Wagstaff has been confirmed as our first guest at our forthcoming charity fundraiser / official heritage project launch.

Waggy’s presence at the event will certainly add an extra layer of excitement and nostalgia for attendees, providing an opportunity to connect with one of the club’s iconic players.

He played 181 times for Mansfield Town between 1960 and 1964 scoring 93 goals.

He then move to the Tigers, playing 378 games between 1964 and 1976 scoring 173 goals before a knee injury ended his playing career.

In 2000 he became, to our knowledge, the only player to be voted player of the century by the fans of two clubs.

Get your tickets to join us at in the Kingston Suite at the MKM Stadium on Friday, February 9th, doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets can be booked by following this link. HCST 2024 Charity Fundraiser Tickets, Fri 9 Feb 2024 at 19:00 | Eventbrite

To find out more about our fundraiser Fundraiser by Hull City Supporters’ Trust : Tigers for Turkey – “Fill the MKM” (gofundme.com)

For more details please contact us here.