Photograph of Blackburn Rovers players on football pitch

About

About the trust

We believe that all fans are equal and deserve their say in how our club is run. Players, managers, CEO’s and owners come and go but supporters remain the one constant. It’s our club, and WE ARE the Rovers.

We are immensely proud of our club’s rich history and heritage. The original Rovers, our team have been at the forefront of the game for almost 150 years. We're the most successful town team in world football. We're the only team to have won major honours in three centuries. We are THE ROVERS.

The Trust Board will endeavour to ensure that the supporters interests are always a priority for the club we love, and continue to push for meaningful engagement and actions.
Photograph of young Blackburn Rovers supporters

Objectives

To remain relevant to both an engaged membership paying annual fees and to the wider cohort of Rovers Supporters, the Trust needs to develop ‘over-arching’ Objectives;

Secure the Assets and Heritage of the Club

Ewood Park is at the heart of our community. Rovers have played at Ewood since 1881 and Blackburn Rovers bought the freehold for £2,500 in 1893.  We are determined to secure Ewood Park for future generations; that is why we secured, and recently renewed, the ground as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).  The ACV is a a powerful tool that protects the very future of Ewood from redevelopment or sale.

We are also advocates for a Blackburn Rovers museum.  We have such a rich heritage when it comes to the history of our Club and this deserves to be recognised.  A museum could be such an important community resource as well as a income generator.

Preserving the long term health of the Club

A successful Blackburn Rovers is so important to our local economy whether that be small business or larger commercial operations.  A successful Club breathes life and confidence into our town and the wider area, it also brings investment which is much needed in what is an area facing economic and social challenges.

We see many positives with our Club in terms of the outreach work carried out by the Community Trust.  This is something we are proud of but want to see expanded outside of the immediate Blackburn with Darwen area into all those other towns and villages populated by Rovers supporters.

Regenerate Support and encourage return of ‘stay-aways’

We have lost support due to relegation from the Premier League.  We are confident that we can again rebuild our supporter base through community engagement, better marketing, affordable ticket pricing and a targeted approach to attract younger fans.  

We want Ewood Park to again be an exciting vibrant and welcoming place for fans to visit; this is why we have been involved in discussions with the Club over issues such as Safe Standing and Season Ticket pricing along with new initiatives such as ‘Fan Takeover’ games.

Help mitigate a lost generation of Supporters

With ownership changes and the unrest and disquiet around those changes we lost some of what was our core support.  We are looking to work with the Club to re-engage those ‘lost’ fans and encourage them to revisit Ewood and rekindle their active support for the Club.  This requires time, patience and often a one-to-one approach; it should be done and your Supporters Trust are determined to help with this journey and encourage a return to Ewood Park.

What has the Trust achieved?

In addition to acquiring a minor stake in the club, the Trust has a large number of successes, including:

  • Sponsorship of local grassroots football teams
  • Sponsorship of first team players
  • Had Ewood Park designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV)
  • Led and contributed to multiple public meetings regarding BRFC
  • Forged strong links with and provided interviews across regional, national and international publications and media outlets
  • Put forward Early Day Motion to Parliament regarding football governance
  • Contributed to Fan Led Review of Football Governance led by Tracey Crouch MP
  • Attempted to open communication links with the Club’s owners via open letters
  • Regular meetings with the Club’s CEO as well as contributing to Fans Forum and Supporter Consultation meetings

What about performances on the pitch?

Ordinarily, the performance of the manager and players is something that elicits many different opinions and wouldn’t be something the Trust would campaign or comment on. However, where the actions (or inactions) of the club’s ownership negatively impact on field performances, the Trust would be expected to represent the opinions of its members.

The Board

Mike Graham

Chair

Mike Graham

Chair
Mike was originally a Marine Engineer on deep-sea oil tankers and then a maintenance engineer at Farington Foundry, part of Leyland Bus & Truck. Latterly Mike was a senior trades union official for Prospect representing senior staff in security sensitive industries such as civil nuclear and the Ministry of Defence; Mike’s last role was National Head of Organising and Commercial Services.
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Steve Williams

Heritage

Steve Williams

Heritage
Steve watched his first game at Ewood in 1962, aged 10, and a few years later he was refereeing schoolboy cup finals on the hallowed turf. This led to a long career as a referee in schoolboy, youth, amateur and semi-professional football, including fifteen seasons as a Referee in Non-League Football and twelve seasons as a Linesman on Football League, F.A. Cup and European games.
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Marc O’Neill

IT & Marketing Officer

Marc O’Neill

IT & Marketing Officer
Marc remembers watching Rovers from the Nuttall Street stand with his dad when he was 6 years old, the good old days of standing, and the 100 club after the game.
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Andy Young

National Representative

Andy Young

National Representative
I have been an avid Rovers fan since I first saw Tony Field and Sir Roger Jones create magic at either end of the field in 1971.
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Duncan Miller

Club/Supporter Liaison

Duncan Miller

Club/Supporter Liaison
Having seen the effects of poor owners and a lack of governance at other clubs, I made contact with the Football Supporters Federation back in 2010 to explore the idea of forming a Supporters Trust at Rovers, and was subsequently elected to the board.
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Peter Ridehalgh

Secretary

Peter Ridehalgh

Secretary
As a Community Benefit Society, The Trust is obliged by law to have a secretary who is responsible for ensuring that all Trust activities are carried out in accordance with legislation, following good practice and in an open and transparent manner.
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Peter Bolton

Fans Forum

Peter Bolton

Fans Forum
Watched my first game at Ewood Park in the late 1960’s with my father and uncle. Now supporting the Rovers with my 2 sons and grandsons in the Jack Walker Upper tier.
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Linda Chelton

Governance

Linda Chelton

Governance
A lifelong Blackburn Rovers fan, Linda travels from Scotland for home matches and as many away games as she can. Her first memory of Blackburn games is being taken to the Blackburn End terrace in the late 1970’s to watch Blackburn beat Fulham 4-0, she was hooked.
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Peter Dickinson

Treasurer

Peter Dickinson

Treasurer
Born in 1949 in Church, my earliest memories are of my dad and I cycling to watch the Rovers. living between Burnley and Blackburn, we also watched Burnley play.
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 Photograph of Ewood Park taken through football net

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