BST column: The perfect end to the year

The end of the calendar year is a busy time, being the point at which we hold our annual elections and AGM.

Both went very well and were rounded off in perfect style when we made a large donation to the Blackpool FC Festive Fundraiser.

The Festive Fundraiser was an initiative introduced when Simon Sadler took over the club.

We know that many families in Blackpool struggle to afford presents for their children at Christmas, so why not raise money and ask the BFC Community Trust to make sure it is spent on giving them some Christmas cheer?

Mr Sadler matches every pound raised with one of his own, so we were delighted that our members agreed with our proposal to donate £2512.23 from BST funds.

It is not too late for you to contribute. More details are at https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2023/october/19/club---trust-relaunch-festive-fundraiser/

Some of you may well be aware that our FA Cup second round tie was called off at very short notice and rearranged for Tuesday of this week.

The FA had no choice but to respond to a technical breach of their rules by Forest Green Rovers – but the nature of their response left much to be desired.

It was at odds with a similar breach in round one, which led to Barnsley being thrown out.

There was virtually no explanation given for the decision with fans still in the dark.

Those fans have been severely inconvenienced; Forest Green supporters bought tickets and arranged travel for a game that did not take place and faced having to do it all again this week.

Many of our own fans who live away from Blackpool were not able to go to the rearranged game.

We don’t think the FA have put their best foot forward on the issue.

Many of our fans agree and we have asked for answers to the questions they have raised.

A copy of our letter to the FA is here: https://www.blackpoolsupporterstrust.com/letter-to-fa-re-the-handling-of-the-blac

Getting younger people involved in how football is run is a big challenge: not just for the English game, but in all countries.

We are aiming, eventually, for the creation of a representative panel of younger fans to help shape our programme of work.

We have co-opted Tom Ghee onto the Trust Board to specifically promote the interests of fans in the 16-30 age range.

One of Tom’s first jobs was to attend an event on the ‘Future of Football’ in Brussels last weekend.

We are also looking for people with specialist skills to help us as volunteers, with details at: //www.blackpoolsupporterstrust.com/jobs-bst

We have a great level of ambition, in terms of what we want to do, but all our activities cost money and the principal way in which we raise it is through the 1953 Sweepstake.

It costs from as little as £5 per month to join and all the money we raise either funds our good causes or is paid out in prize money.

You can find out more by visiting: https://www.blackpoolsupporterstrust.com/1953-sweepstake

Finally, thank you once again to the Gazette for giving us this platform and to you for reading. We will be back in mid-January.