Club is now publishing summaries of meetings to aid greater transparency
CARDIFF Rugby Club has begun publishing summaries of its board meetings following the appointment of a supporter advisor to the board.
The club announced that it had agreed to publish the summaries, starting with last week’s meeting, after David Allen officially joined the board as supporter advisor.
A lifelong Cardiff Rugby supporter and a former chair of supporters’ group the CF10 Trust, Mr Allen is Cardiff Rugby’s first supporter advisor.
Mr Allen, who recently retired as an NHS psychologist working with people with learning difficulties, has been a season ticket holder for 50 years as well as briefly being on the Cardiff RFC committee.
He said: “CF10 Trust have been lobbying for something like this for five or six years, and it’s really encouraging that the club have taken the decision to move the idea forward.
“That is tremendous and the club deserve a lot of credit. But it is also quite daunting in that it’s going to be a big challenge to carry out the role effectively and to make the impact we all hope for.”
“In any professional sports club, there is inevitably a gap between the people that pay their money to stand on the terraces or sit in the stands and those that actually run the club and make the decisions.
“One of the hopes is to reduce that gap. Very often there is a feeling of ‘them’ and ‘us’ so one of the aims is to make it feel like it is just ‘us’.”
The club began searching for a supporter advisor in October. An election was planned but Mr Allen was the only candidate, something he said was “disappointing but perhaps not that surprising”.
He added: “One of my aims over the next three years will be to get the role fully established and understood so that the next time it comes around there is a strong field of candidates to choose from.”
Chelsea FC are among the other teams that have recently appointed supporter advisors.
New kit sponsor announced
CARDIFF Rugby has signed a three-year kit partnership with Welsh broadband provider Ogi starting next season.
The company, which takes its name from the chant “ogi, ogi, ogi”, also sponsors Haverfordwest AFC, Llantwit Major RFC, and other regional and local sports teams.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with such an integral part of the Cardiff region community,” said Ogi chief marketing officer Mari Stevens.
Rhys Blumberg, Cardiff Rugby’s chief operating officer, said: “Digital connectivity is obviously increasingly important in bringing our team and our fans together – and underpins all the work we do to engage with players and clubs at grass-roots level.”
