Stoke City Fans Forum

One lesser known but very important function of this club is our active involvement with the Stoke City Fans Forum, which is intended as a link between the football club and its supporters. Committee member Julia Zuk is our representative and this potentially gives our members some degree of influence over what happens at Stoke City FC with respect to matters of direct interest to its paying customers.

Minutes of recent Fans Forum meetings

Minutes of the Fans Forum 2006 AGM, held on 27th July, can be read here.

The Fans Forum published official minutes of their meeting with Peter Coates on 1st June 2006, shortly after his takeover. These can be read here.

Shortly before the above meeting with Peter Coates, the FF held a meeting of their own in preparation, the minutes of which can be found here.

Julia's 2005/06 summary

When the editor asked me to summarise the Fans Forum (FF) for last season it gave me an excuse to review how far we have come since the forum was established. In the early days, when the idea of being able to communicate directly with the Club chairman and board members was a novelty, there seemed to be loads of issues to discuss, with debate ranging from season ticket prices to the flavours of pies available on match days.

Initially there was suspicion from some fans that the FF would act as a ‘Yes’ man for the club and that some of the representatives were only involved to feed their own vanity. Hopefully, this has now been demonstrated not to be the case.

Although it has been a relatively quiet year we continue to enjoy a good relationship with Tony Scholes and are able to contact him directly with simple issues. Obviously, when an item needs general discussion it is usually discussed by forum members at our regular meetings at the Tollgate Hotel before being added to the agenda of a full meeting with club officials. For example, we discussed the season ticket ‘special’ offer before suggesting it at our first meeting with Peter Coates. Although this offer didn’t result in thousands of new season tickets, some supporters did benefit and that’s what we are there for.

Occasionally we are asked by the club to comment on potential changes they are planning and I then try to obtain your opinions via email where a swift response is needed. As you might expect, I‘ve tended to focus on issues affecting exiled supporters when they arise but will willingly raise any matter for any of you. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any issue if it affects all fans or just you.

To quote our ‘Mission Statement’ (wish they’d think of a new name for it!)
“The Fans Forum exists to help unlock the potential of Stoke City football club through the active participation of supporters in all areas of the business.”

Julia Zuk, July 2006

If you wish to find out more, or would like Julia to raise an issue at the Fans Forum please use the contact form, or you may contact Julia Zuk directly.