My City My Shirt
This project was perhaps the most successful initiative we have run, getting huge social media engagement. In partnership with the club, the Football Supporters’ Association and Fans for Diversity, this simple idea aimed to celebrate diversity of the Forest fanbase. The club donated more than 30 Forest home shirts, and fans from a range of diverse backgrounds were photographed by club photographer Ritchie Sumpter around the City Ground and other iconic local landmarks.
The project raised the profile of many under-represented groups of supporters with the photos revealed at a special Council House launch in Old Market Square, and the photographs appearing on the City Ground screens, the programme, club website, local media and an exhibition at Rushcliffe Arena.
We continue to look at how the legacy of this important project can be taken forward into next season.
Find out more about the project
Dialogue with Nottingham Forest
Clubs in the EFL are obliged to meet formally with their Trust at least twice a year and we are pleased to say we continue to have an open dialogue formally and informally with the club. Throughout the season we have shared issues and concerns directly with the club which have led to positive outcomes for supporters.
We shared a report from our first meeting with new CEO Dane Murphy in which he outlined his vision for the club. We also held a second on-the-record meeting with both Dane and Nicholas Randall QC. As of yet, we have not been able to share the notes from that meeting due to the rapidly changing landscape of our promotion run and also the ongoing challenges with the City Ground planning permission. We hope to meet the club again this summer and share a more useful and complete update on the issues raised by members, but in the meantime some of those are covered in this BBC Nottingham interview with the chairman.
Raising issues through the Football Supporters’ Association
Throughout the 21/22 season, the Trust has been an active member of the FSA’s EFL network, raising important issues such as stewarding, fixture scheduling and fan safety. The season has been characterised by long midweek trips and many fixtures moved by Sky and through the network we have pushed for fans to be considered when decisions are made in future. This is a complex and challenging issue with many conflicting agendas and something that affected Forest far more than other clubs, but we will continue to raise these concerns as we move into the Premier League network next season.
Government’s fan-led review into football governance
As part of its manifesto the Government launched a review into football governance led by Tracey Crouch MP. The Trust supports the recommendations of the Crouch report and has held discussions into what these may mean for Nottingham Forest via meetings with the club, the FSA and other Trusts and relevant organisations.
If you want to know more about the review, we compiled this guide on our website. More information will be shared as discussions with the club continue and the recommendations progress towards becoming law.
Disability engagement
A hugely positive outcome of the Trust’s work in diversity and inclusion has been the formation of a new Disabled Supporters Association (DSA). While it is a completely separate organisation to the Trust, the groundwork was laid through our focus group for disabled fans and their carers in 2019. With the help of Level Playing Field, a new DSA has been formed which will meet regularly with Forest to share views and concerns of disabled supporters. With Trust board members closely involved with the formation and leadership of this new group, we look forward to a strong relationship going forward with the DSA.
Foodbank collections
With the cost of living crisis taking hold the matchday food bank collections have never been so important. The Trust has worked as a link between the club and Hope Nottingham, which supplies foodbanks across the local area. In total the three collections on matchdays amounted to:
- 1,397kg of food collected, equating to 3,293 meals
- £2,449 in donations collected
We will review the collections for next season and have already held a discussion with the Community Trust on how our support for the local community can be enhanced in the future.
Remembering Hillsborough
Earlier this season at a board meeting, Forest fans Pete, Amanda and Barry shared their moving experiences of attending the FA Cup Semi Final in 1989. It has long been the case that the impact of Hillsborough on fans of both teams has not been widely recognised.
The FA Cup Quarter Final draw brought the issue into immediate focus and we were pleased to join the laying of a wreath at the Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield alongside Hillsborough campaigners and Liverpool supporter groups. Positive dialogue on the issue took place with Forest, leading to 97 seats being left empty in a tribute to those who lost their lives the last time the clubs met in the competition.
Nottingham Forest Women
We continued our support of Nottingham Forest Women through our sponsorship of defender Grace Walters. We would like to congratulate Grace and the team on trophy-winning season and for her support and positivity towards the Trust. We hope to continue the sponsorship next season and explore other ways that we can grow support of the women’s team.
Work in the background – AGM, Governance, Elections
In addition to this we have also undertaken essential work on our governance by updating our constitution and policies and have resumed monthly board meetings face-to-face in the 21/22 season. In parallel we have run our annual election process and you can watch our AGM on our website. Community Benefit Societies such as the Trust had a dispensation meaning this was our first AGM for two years and we took the opportunity to share the new constitution with members. We have increased the capacity of the board through the election process, co-options to the board and on a project-by-project basis.
Marketing and communications
We have also worked with a local agency to rebuild our database, payment processes, website and email system. This will make us a more sustainable organisation moving forwards. Forest’s success on the field has led to increased profile for the Trust with board members appearing on various online, broadcast and print media outlets. Our Twitter following has now topped 10,000 followers.
We’ll be holding a planning meeting at the start of the 22/23 season and if you have any ideas on what we can work on in the new season or would like to get involved, do get in touch at comms@nffctrust.org
Thanks for your support this season.