Offside Set

TopherPlus · Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:27 am International contacts

Bored as i was the other day at work i was reading up on some international supporters groups and in particular the Arabs (Dundee United).

Turns out they own the 2nd largest portion of shares of their club and so have a direct say in decisions etc.

I shot them off a quick email simply outlining the A-League, Victory and the supporters groups structure (or lack of it) over here and said i was simply trying to make a few contacts. They sent me the following email.

I was wondering if we want to write a more official email back to them on behalf of our group. I'm happy to draft it and then publish it for the OSS core to see before we send it.

I'd like to get some more info on this initiative to have fans as shareholders in clubs.

(The poor grammar is not my work)

Hi Chris,
Thanks for your Email which has been forwarded to me by our Secretary Ian.
I am heavily involved in 2 of the main supporters organization affiliated to
Dundee United FC.
ArabTRUST - Supporters Trust which is a member of Supporters Direct, which
UK backed organization with has over 140 members trust which are involved in
Supporters Direct is a government initiative, funded by public money, with
offices in London and Glasgow.
Their aims are to Promote and support the concept of democratic supporter
ownership and representation through mutual, not-for-profit structures
Promote football clubs as civic and community institutions
Work to preserve the competitive values of league football in the United
Kingdom and promoting the health of the game as a whole. UEFA have recently
announced a feasibility study into the trust model in the UK.

The Federation of Dundee United Supporters Clubs, which involved in more
fans issues at the club. Including ticket prices and fan travel to home &
away games.
My role with both bodies is to ensure that communication between the 2
bodies is maintained and relations remain cordial.

Feel free to ask for more info.
Relevant info can be found at the following websites.
http://www.supporters-direct.org
http://www.feddusc.com

A'rabest
Mark Dorward
Vice Chair
ArabTRUST
The Dundee United Supporters Society
-----Original Message-----
From: secretary@arabtrust.co.uk [mailto:xxxxxxx]
Sent: 19 October 2006 22:47
To: xxxxxx
Subject: [Fwd: Supporter Group Links [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Supporter Group Links [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
From: "Streets, Christopher" <Christopher.Streets@aer.gov.au>
Date: Thu, October 12, 2006 01:51
To: xxxx--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi mark

Here's the original from the guys at Melbourne Vics.

Cheers & Arabest.

Ian

jonkjonk · Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:31 am

Wow.

Thats cool as.

GweedsOSS · Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:05 am

I think is a good idea. More links we have with other groups (which follow our broad philosophy) the better.

Daydream · Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:52 am

Topher, great work! I'd love it if you could take up such a role in our little group to get in touch with and establish international connections, would be GREAT to see that happen, especially with some of the groups that have similar values and goals to us. Do you reckon this is something you would like to take on?

TopherPlus · Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:55 am

I'm more than happy to be some sort of communications liason type guy. I mean i spend most of my career doing this sort of thing anyway.

I'll keep looking for like minded groups and get some info/contacts.

I'm really intrigued by the idea of partial ownership. Imagine if every MVFC member put $10 into a trust. $100k of shares is a reasonable starting point.