Foxes Trust Reform

As many of you will have seen, a Foxes Trust Reform group (comprised of a sizeable number of new Foxes Trust members) has formed to achieve real leadership change at the Trust so that it can become a group that represents all fans and holds the club to account. Representatives of this group were offered positions on the Foxes Trust subgroups referenced in the statement today but these were rejected and the six new volunteers do not represent the Foxes Trust Reform group. They are simply new joiners that have kindly volunteered their time and help, which we are pleased to see as anything that improves the Foxes Trust can only be a positive. We wish them well in their roles. The reason we rejected joining subgroups as individuals from the Foxes Trust Reform group was because we had been speaking to the Trust about fresh input and impetus at board level (where the Trust has two open spots that they could co-opt people to). Ultimately these subgroups simply report to the board who still make all decisions on what the Trust does/does not do. Without that board having fresh blood, we feel little changes. It is interesting to note that anyone interested in offering time and support to the Trust was asked to complete a Skills Assessment. Current board members also did this to check their suitability to continue in role. With all Skills Assessments completed, nothing changes at board level of the Foxes Trust and the same people continue in role. That only reinforces to us the need for true leadership change at the Trust. If you are supportive of our campaign and haven’t already done so, please email “count me in” to [email protected] so that we can invite you to an online Open Session we are hosting via Zoom on Wednesday 5th June at 8pm where we will share more detail on the above and our next steps in pursuit of true change at the Trust.

Those on Twitter/X who are interested in keeping up to date with our campaign, you can now follow us via @FtReform Link to our profile:

We have just DM’d you to see if we can help at all. Thanks!

On Wednesday 5th June at 8pm, we will be hosting an open Zoom session online for all Leicester City fans (regardless of whether you are a current Foxes Trust member or not) interested in hearing about our campaign to reform the Foxes Trust. To receive dial-in details, please email "count me in" to [email protected]. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the game we love continues to change and evolve, it is clear that Supporters’ Trusts are to become increasingly important (as suggested in the 2022 report from the fan-led review of football). However, right at a time where LCFC seem to be taking decisions that do not recognise nor represent the views, desires and needs of its fans, the Foxes Trust is falling short. It is clear that we need a strong Supporters Trust that can be a campaigning group: holding the club to account and being the voice of not just its own members but the wider fan base as well. The Foxes Trust is a democratic organisation and registered with the Football Supporters Association (FSA) so there is an opportunity to change it into the organisation we as fans want it to be. In March, driven by some online and social media campaigns, around 150 of us signed up to do so. Before this influx of new members, the Trust had around 340 members. There are many good people in the Trust. Like all of us, they are passionate about the club and they have given a lot of their time voluntarily to keep the Trust functioning for over 20 years now. But it has also become apparent that they are too cosy with LCFC, they have been focused on representing only the views of their existing members and they are inefficient and cumbersome in how they operate. Those already involved with our campaign will be aware of the four requests we made to the Trust: To co-opt two new members onto the board to provide fresh impetus and additional helping hands to a leadership that expressed a need for support. To share with all new members full visibility on the proposal for a Fan Advisory Board which is currently being discussed with the club and pause any agreement so that new members could provide input. We fear that what we do know about the current proposal makes it unfit for purpose and do not want the Trust to lose this once-in-a-generation opportunity to put something impactful in place. To allow us to build and run the Trust’s end of season survey so that it could go to all fans, get more participation than previous versions and hold true weight with the club. To, whilst recognising that the club cannot comment on the current PSR case, call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for future PSR compliance. This is to avoid a situation whereby another breach occurs and we, the fans, do not know who within the club is responsible for a failure in compliance. We have been in communication with the Foxes Trust board for almost three months now. They have been slow to respond to us and are yet to directly address a single one of our four requests. More recently, they have offered us two places on Working Groups but this is a departure from previous discussions about the need for support at board level and will limit the positive impact that new joiners could have. Our realisation is that any reform of the Foxes Trust will require a change of leadership. We have informed them that we intend to prepare a request for a ‘Special General Meeting’ along with a resolution to change the leadership of the Trust. It is important to note, there are some existing Foxes Trust board members doing some valuable work and we hope that they will choose to continue in their roles and work with us but recent communication tells us that there are some board members resistant to change and this is holding the Trust back. Having shared this with the wider Leicester City fan base a couple of weeks ago, we have been blown away by the support and positivity we have received. Thank you to all of you that emailed “count me in” to [email protected] to show your support. You are on our mailing list and will receive dial-in details for our session on Wednesday 5th June in the coming days. For those that have not yet been in touch that would like to join the online session please do so. We will be sharing: Our vision for the Foxes Trust (what we believe it can become and what it can achieve) The roles and responsibilities that will need filling on a new Trust board so that those who would like to take a more active role can express interest in doing so (feel free to email [email protected] in advance to express interest) The discussions we are having with other Trusts to learn how they operate and how the Foxes Trust compares Visibility on progress (or lack of) thus far with the existing Foxes Trust board Timelines and action plan for the period of time leading up to the Special General Meeting We remain determined to reform the Foxes Trust. We are working hard to ensure we set in place the right plan and the right structures for the Trust to represent all fans and hold the club to account. Come and be a part of positive change for us all as Leicester City fans! Please simply email “count me in” to [email protected] to join the Zoom and learn more about us and our campaign – include your name and indicate whether you are currently a Foxes Trust member in the body of the email. Together, we will make this happen!

Just to comment that this is a point where those of us leading the reform efforts are massively opposed to the kind of thinking in the comment above. Our view is that, if you have a paid membership model, people pay to be part of a Trust that is making a difference. A Trust that is representing the fan base effectively, championing the right causes and finding ways to provide value when fans are negatively impacted (for example we have seen other Trusts providing compensation funds when fans lose out on booked travel and hotels due to late notice kick-off changes for tv). If people see a Trust that is doing great things, they will identify with it and want to support it to continue to do those things. There shouldn’t be a quid-pro-quo that the Trust will only represent you or consult with you if you have paid money because that leads to the place where we are now with a Trust working for only a small sub-section of the supporter base. Yes, there are ways and means of giving paid members more access and membership benefits but we would never want consultation or representation to sit behind a paywall. It is also worth noting that the Foxes Trust currently has circa £42,000 sat in the bank. As a reform campaign, we believe this offers a real opportunity to start doing more for LCFC fans if the right leadership is in place. We have been blown away by the support we have received in our inbox to date (so a massive ‘thank you’ for that) and appeal for anyone else supportive of our thinking and/or our efforts to email “count me in” to [email protected]. We will be sending out communications via our mailing list in the coming days.

Watch this space… Foxestalk is the biggest community of Leicester fans online though, and there are so many good posters on here that want change, so it makes sense to start here.

There is a helpful webpage that provides a detailed answer to a couple of your questions here. Premier League and EFL clubs are mandated to meet with fans twice per season as a minimum and the Foxes Trust is the only supporter group with official Supporters Trust status amongst the various fan groups for LCFC. Naturally, that also makes it easier for the club not to engage with UFS.

The Trust had to receive special dispensation to increase the maximum term a board member can serve, which tells you everything you need to know about the tenure of many board members. It’s important to state here that this was not done with any ill intent or malice, it’s simply that had those people not been able to continue then the Trust would have found itself even shorter on helping hands at board level. Those on the board currently have dedicated a tremendous amount of time voluntarily to their roles. In our dialogue with the Trust we sense a real need for additional resource and support (particularly if the Trust is to do and be more). But it’s been disappointing that, despite some board members being receptive to the idea of fresh input and impetus, the board have failed to offer a clear and timely path forward to achieving this. It also seems from the delays in communication and progress to date that some board members are maybe not so keen on fresh blood/change and this might be what’s causing a bit of decision paralysis on our proposals. Unfortunately we don’t have time to wait for the existing Trust board to reach a slow consensus given the criticality of some of the things we need to see momentum from the Trust on.

So the two groups are distinct and the Foxes Trust should always have areas of priority/focus that might not be of such importance to UFS - and vice versa. However, there are many areas where UFS have been pushing the club in recent years where the Foxes Trust has not taken a position. This has been largely, we think, due to the Trust believing that it’s primary objective is to represent its members and not the wider LCFC fanbase and therefore only campaigning on issues that are important to its member demographic (which has not been diverse in recent times). That said, the Trust and UFS have worked well together on the general ticketing issue and the £25 loyalty tax issue (in one of our first meetings with the Foxes Trust board we encouraged them to work with UFS more in future and it’s been great to see that in action of late). We know that the club are cautious about the fan groups working together and as a Foxes Trust Reform group we have been clear that partnership with other fan groups and working collectively where possible is a big priority. We have existing connections and friendships across the membership of both UFS and the Foxes Trust Reform group (as well as other supporter groups like Foxes Pride and the New York Foxes fan group) and we see this as a real positive moving forward. With a refreshed leadership and way of working at the Foxes Trust, the partnership between UFS and Foxes Trust can only go from strength to strength. If supporter groups working together for the good of the entire LCFC fan base is important to you, please show your support for us and our campaign.

We are a group of over 100 new joiners to the Foxes Trust since March. We started predominantly as a group of writers from The Fosse Way who wanted to join the Trust to support it to do more and grew via campaigns on social media and by finding like-minded individuals on Foxestalk. In the next couple of weeks or so we will be hosting an online session to provide further context on how the group and campaign started, to introduce those representing the group in discussions with the Foxes Trust, to share our vision for what we would like the Trust to become in future and to provide latest updates on any progress made. That session will be free to join, open to non-Foxes Trust members and you can receive an invitation to that session by emailing “count me in” to [email protected] to become part of our mailing list.

We’ve already been in touch with a sizeable number of new joiners to the Trust, and we shared this information with those that had already been in contact but for transparency we’re happy to share it here and are also happy to field questions and receive feedback on our email account or via DM on here. To date, we have had cordial discussions with the Trust. There are good people involved who are passionate about the club but, with many new joiners since March wanting change, we felt they needed to act upon the concerns we’d shared on behalf of a sizeable number of new members (that we are in direct contact with) with urgency. We had not asked them to do so with urgency for any reasons other than a) there are some issues that are time critical and b) it will be important that the Trust can change quickly to be ready to take on challenges in the new season. To comment specifically on our four requests: • To start working together (rather than continuously corresponding) we asked for two people to be co-opted to the FT board - they said they need more helping hands but have been slow on taking up the offer of this. • What we know about the FAB proposal currently on the table leads us to suspect it is unfit for purpose. This is a once in a generation opportunity to get things right and it is likely it will be set in stone this summer given promotion so we asked the Trust to share full details but pause any agreement to proceed with the club so that we could all work together. • We asked the Trust to take up our offer of support on a new fan survey working group – to create something with the expertise of new joiners that would reach all LCFC fans and not just Trust members. This would include a satisfaction scorecard and identify fan priorities for the Trust to pursue. As you can imagine, this will not be a quick undertaking to get right but needs to happen in good time for the new season. For comparison, Swindon Town Trust managed 6000 responses to their survey - and without Foxes Trust doing similar, the club will ignore it. • Finally, we accepted that the club will not discuss the ongoing PSR case, however we simply asked the Trust to call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for ongoing PSR compliance. We are seeking to avoid the situation that if a further breach should occur we fans have no idea who is responsible… The Trust sent initial holding emails and then a lengthy response that didn’t provide any assurances or address directly the four requests: - The Trust said they were assessing skill audit returns for those interested in active involvement at working group/board level (a figure of 6 responses was mentioned - so this really shouldn’t take long in a well functioning Trust) - The Trust either misunderstood or ignored our request in relation to the FAB. No full details have been shared with new members and there has been no confirmation of a pause to any agreement with the club - The Trust asked us to detail out what we wanted the fan survey to look like but made no commitment to actually letting us have involvement with that or discussing further - The Trust misunderstood our request in relation to PSR - our request was simply for the Trust to call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for future PSR compliance. They seem happy to let the club determine when the right time is to make any comment on anything PSR related. So nothing playground like. We have met in person with board members almost four weeks ago and presented for 90 minutes to them three and a half weeks ago. Our approach has been considered and professional whilst challenging in a positive manner. Our requests were in many ways an acid test of two things: would the Trust work with us and could the Trust move at the pace needed with the current leadership and ways of working? We do not take the decision to go public and prepare a request for an EGM lightly. You are right that the Trust do not currently need to jump through hoops for anyone. But it’s a democratic organisation so if enough people want change then they will do. We believe it is time for change and we believe that there is significant support amongst the LCFC fan base for that change. That’s why we’re asking for you to show your support by emailing “count me in” to [email protected].

It’s time to change the leadership of the Foxes Trust. Since March, a group of new joiners to the Foxes Trust have been motivating for change. We want the Trust to become significant campaigning group representing the views of the entire fanbase and holding the club to account. We have met with several Foxes Trust board members but, despite the large number of new joiners (thanks to the ~200 new joiners in recent weeks) and warm words, they have failed to demonstrate a real openness to action change nor the ability to operate with the agility required to ensure we have an effective Trust come the start of the new season. It is now clear that if the Trust is to be reformed then the leadership must be refreshed. We have therefore informed the Trust that we are to prepare a request for a General Meeting of all Trust members along with a resolution to change the leadership of the Trust. We are appealing to you to show your support for a more effective Trust by simply emailing “count me in” to [email protected] - whether you are a current Trust member or otherwise. Doing so will allow us to further showcase the desire for change (both inside and outside of the Trust membership base today), keep you up to date on how things are progressing and ask for your input/feedback on what you want to see from the Trust. Some of our top/most pressing priorities for the Trust are areas such as: - Attract a significant membership to truly articulate supporters’ concerns/interests/aspirations and demonstrate strength/weight of numbers to the club. The Trust should not be beholden to the club and should be able to speak out where it believes necessary. - Implement a fanbase-wide survey so that the focus of the Trust is driven by the views of the entire fanbase. There are so many issues where we wish to see a campaigning Foxes Trust press the club to do better: general sale ticketing, shop pricing (especially for kids shirts), future of the singing section, introduction of safe standing; concourse pricing, matchday stewarding, banning policy, transparency over responsibilities of club executives/board members, creation of a Fan Advisory Board that is NOT under the control of the club, safeguarding for academy players and ladies teams, improved club media operations, charging kids to attend signing sessions… the list goes on! - Fan Advisory Board: With promotion, the club now has to establish a Fans Advisory Board (FAB) yet the current proposal for the make-up of the FAB is unfit for purpose – this is a once in a generation opportunity to get things right. We asked the Trust to share full visibility on the current proposed plan and pause any agreement to proceed with the club so that we could work together to identify a more effective proposal. The Trust has not responded on this piece in particular. Our assessment of the current Trust shows them to be lacking in their mindset on representation (they believe its first priority is to represent its members and the views of members rather than the wider supporter base), their relationship with LCFC (they are too cosy with the club, have just one person communicating with the club and fear being sidelined), their communication (they have little presence on social media and their statements are weak in tone) and their ability to change at pace (they have many manual processes and make every decision slowly and by committee). To pressure-test the Trust board’s ability and appetite for change, we asked them to work with us on four simple requests and provide comment with a speed that would demonstrate their appreciation for the urgency of those requests. They replied late and did not directly action a single one of the four requests. This is why we are now taking action and asking you for your backing. We would love for you to join the Trust here and secure your vote for the Special General Meeting (it’s only £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs, £5 for students, £3 for 18-21 year olds and free for under 18s) but, even if you are not quite ready to join but are supportive of what we are trying to achieve for all LCFC fans, we would still appeal to you to please at least email “count me in” to [email protected]. Share with fellow LCFC fans… it’s time to stand up for change in the Foxes Trust!