BANTAMS SUPPORTERS TRUST
We are the Bantams Supporters Trust
Welcome to the official home of the Bantams Supporters Trust — formerly known as the Bradford City Supporters Trust.
We are a fully independent, democratic, and not-for-profit organisation, proudly owned by our members and operated by dedicated volunteers. Our mission is to champion the interests of Bradford City supporters and strengthen the bond between fans and their Club.

Membership is completely free and open to all City fans who share our commitment to the long-term, sustainable success of Bradford City AFC.
Trust News
For those City fans of a certain age, tuning into Pennine Radio for the football in West Yorkshire in the early 80’s, you may remember the familiar voice of Tony Delahunty commentating on the fortunes of Bradford City up and down the country. Well, he will be appearing at what many of us remember as the old Ale Exchange this Friday, raising money for the Burns Unit. On the 3 rd of April, before the Northampton game, Tony will be speaking at the Exchange Craft Beer House about his stories during his time commentating on the City action. Tony was commentating on the tragic day of the fire. Now 82, Tony is retiring from radio. In recent years he ran an independent radio station, Mansfield 103.2. The Trust has helped organise this event and he is now an Honorary Patron of the Trust for being a great servant to Bradford in the past and as sports commentator around the world. Tony will be at the bar from 12 so come down and see him and raise a glass and make a donation for the Burns Unit. We hear he tells some good stories! He will be at the Ale Exchange for only an hour, as he will be treated at the Club before the match as well.
In attendance from the Club were, Liam Mould (LM) – Club Fan Engagement Officer. Representing the Trust there was, Manny Dominguez (MD) – Chair). Apologies were given from Tony Deacon (JB), Helen Jeffery and Matthew Pickles (MP). The Trust’s purpose to meet the Fan Engagement Officer was firstly to see the scope of LM’s role and how it meets a Trust’s desired role of what it looks like and how we can work together going forward. Supporter Liaison Officer role LM briefly informed us that his main requirement is to lead in maintaining gold in family excellence in the EFL by ensuring the operations activities on a match day go to plan, for example Billy’s Coup, staff on hand for advice and giving out fruit, half time activities, external group organisation and partners’ stalls, and the flags being put out, and a lot more. Also he meets with other existing supporters groups such as the City Vent, the North West Kollective and also The City Gent fanzine. We looked at the FSA guidance to the role of SLO . MD had good comments that LM had been visual on matchdays certainly in the main stand and that he was at the recent away match at Burton Albion, so certainly having a visual presence for fans to be on hand to see is a desired requirement. MD commented that the main stand concourse does certainly look more colourful and welcoming for all. The Club also has 2 disability Liaison Officers that can be seen around the stadium on matchdays also. A concern that the Trust had was that there maybe too many other responsibilities to the job so that desired SLO or Fan Engagement roles could not be fully fulfilled, something that may have been an issue previously. Fan Engagement Plan (FEP) We looked at the FSA’s guidance for Supporter Engagement in the EFL, namely about rules adopted by the EFL in 2024. The FSA’s senior paid officials with a selection of Trust reps meet with senior EFL reps and have a structured dialogue quarterly throughout the year so recommendations get through and are adopted at EFL AGM’s and information cascaded to Clubs, so these papers benefit EFL clubs on a day to day basis. The minimum fan engagement requirement is two meetings/fans’ forums a year. Our club goes over and above this. It also talks about a Fan Engagement Plan or FEP and complete an FEP Review. In a nutshell the guidance is for both Clubs and fans groups to work together and to collaborate on things where possible. This is the ideal way. Engagement Models We looked at various models of supporters groups and how Clubs work with them. The Club engages with various models of supporters groups. The most established are the Supporters Board and ourselves, the Supporters Trust. The Supporters Board model has changed from its original set up that had a mixture of elected and selected/appointed members representing the widest number of supporters through representatives of various supporters groups and the Supporters Trust was represented in that body. Over the years Supporters Boards have become Supporter Advisory Boards (SAB’s) perhaps more common in the Premier League and EFL Championship. Bradford City’s Supporters Boards no longer has Trust representation on that body MD explained, as in recent years, its constitution changed, but now the Trust has a structured dialogue directly with the Club. In years gone by, the Trust had a seat on the Supporters Board but no direct channel in the main with the Club. We always argued, and we still do to a certain extent, that the ideal is, that the Trust should have two communication channels with the Club, and we did have for a time, certainly from the time Ryan Sparks was appointed CEO. Going back to the various engagement models and the structures, the Club engages with, it has the Fans’ Forum twice a year and then has the Trust, which its aim is to meet quarterly and it has the Supporters Board which it meets monthly. It also has working groups such as the NW Kollective, the City Vent and the City Gent, that LM has been meeting with. The Club also puts out occasional questionnaires to canvas opinion too. The Club also has a strong focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) that is discussed at the Club Governance meetings that have invited the Trust and Supporters Board reps to attend. LM said that he is involved on working on an EDI plan and through that they want to develop the Disability group and LGBT group into genuine bodies similar to associations. They also have initiated Responsible Bantams and Sustainable Bantams from the EDI work as well. The long-term aim LM said, is to bring these things into a Fans Advisory Panel which the Trust would be invited on as would the Supporters Board. MD was in favour of this broader advisory panel, citing the FSA recommendation of a having a ‘reserved seat’ for representatives of key independent, democratically structured supporters groups such as the Trust. Trust Proposals within FEP MD explained that we have had a number of proposals that had been agreed at the numerous structured dialogue meetings but have not fully appeared in the FEB document. Firstly there is a statement. There is a separate link to that on the website in the Fan Engagement area which is great but should really be in the FEP document. The Fan Engagement area isn’t very accessible on the Club website. LM said it was on the actual PDF doc. MD said he would check later. Secondly is our quarterly arrangement- adding the four months of the year: August, November, Feb and May. And finally, adding an amendment to the text on ‘Heritage Assets’ that we will be consulted also. MD had shared 2 links to Club fan engagement plans – both Clubs are well established higher up the football pyramid – Championship side, Stoke City and Premier League Sunderland . Both these clubs have excellent Fan Engagement Plans that we should work to developing. FEP Review: Mid season and end of Season Review. We briefly discussed how we can work together to review the Fan Engagement plan. LM felt it was more important to have the end of season review of what has been achieved and what was still work in progress. Consultation This neatly led us to the Trust perception of how the Club consults with us. We feel that we do get to have in depth conversation about the progress of the Club and we are vey grateful and feel this is very useful and good that it gives us such in-depth knowledge and overview, however, quite often, from a fans point of view, supporters are asking about situation after decisions have been made, and when we pre-empt when the Club are going to make a decision on something, for example, season tickets, there is very little to say on the matter, until its almost ready to be publicised when decisions have already been made and there is no going back. Genuine consultation is when 2 parties discuss ideas and decisions are made together where the experience and knowledge of being a fan is taken into account to factor in that input. Quite often as fans we are chasing a moving feast asking why has this or that being done or not being done. Matchday Policing of matches and overcrowding – MD brought up experiences, particularly at Wigan were fans were held back in their seats after the match and more recently at Burton there was overcrowding, For the Wigan game, one supporter wrote to the opposite SLO about the incident and he got a detailed account from the ‘Silver Commander’ police officer. LM said quite often there are no SLO’s at Clubs at this level and in in League 2 but we can have a more in depth discussion about these incidents when we meet again in August for the meeting on safety and behaviour with Paula Watson (PW), the Director of Operations, Jonathon Heaton, the Clubs’ Safety Officer and the West Yorkshire Police Dedicated Football Officer for the Club, Aaron Dennis, in August. B Bock issues and proposal – MD explained that at the previous Structured Dialogue meeting with RS and PW, it was raised that issues are still rumbling and he proposed that he could potentially help mediate to come to an agreement, and RS was all for it. ML was able to get an idea and MD proposed that we could work together to meet with the groups for a form of concession bargaining mediation meeting to find agreement. Ideas for fan engagement events MD firstly explained that some of the events that we have at the Club are too expensive for ordinary supporters to afford. The end of season dinner is a prime example at £80 per person. LM accepted this being the case but still said that this is a fair price where fans can take photos with their star players. He also mentioned a there is an offer for kids that costs £27 on top of their season ticket for 4 events a year. These events cost £6 individually. MD said we should go back to pie and pees events in the suites for supporters groups, veterans to meet the stars at very down to earth prices. Life is a constant battle to try not to spend due to rising costs. Older people can be more isolated these days. The Club could bring them together to talk about old times and memorable matches from the 60’s 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. The Club could bring in speakers to talk about their experiences for Black history month or international women’s’ Day without a 3 course diner, just tea – coffee, a bar maybe and an assortment of finger food. In years gone by the Trust was part of a Community Day that was held just before the season started, where we would get some of the stalls put out in the suites, and there was a bouncy castle outside and football tournament s on the pitch and events on the concourse in the main stand as well. LM said he would take this on board. Any other Business MD raised about alterations on the concourse of the Midland road had aroused a lot of discussion and concern about losing their seats to a bigger away fan allocation. LM said there had been adequate communication about the extra security gate. LM said that there was an email sent to those with seats in that stand. It can be raised for the next Structured Dialogue meeting to be held in May. Next Meeting It was agreed that the FEP end of season review meeting should be held towards the end of May.
It is that time of year again! It’s time for you to vote for this seasons 2025-26 Bradford City Young Player of the Year. All Members of the Trust can take part. This season, Graham Alexander’s team had a flying start to this season and for the first half of it, overall, we remained 2 nd in the table, and whilst up to now, even though we haven’t been quite as consistent, we have hovered over third and fourth in the table. Our form in front of record-breaking home crowds has been formidable. So far, at home we have won 14, lost only 2 and drawn 2 out of a total of 18. The highest attendance so far this season was against Huddersfield back in September, which was 24,075, and we won 3-1 with Bobby Pointon scoring twice. The game was one of the highlights of the season. This season, from the first team we have only 3 young players making an appearance from midfielders to forwards. Bobby Pointon (22), was voted your Young Player of the Year over the last two consecutive seasons. The former academy star has scored 9 goals, and has had 24 starts in the team so far. Jenson Metcalfe (21), signed a three-year deal last summer, the former Everton Player has now become a firm favourite amongst City fans. He’s had 31 League and cup appearances and scored two goals. Ethan Wheatley (20), is establishing himself in the team. The loanee from Manchester United has also represented the England youth team. The promising striker has made 8 appearances in City colours but has not yet found the net. All three candidates eligible for the Bradford City Young Player of the Year 2025-26 have all made valuable contributions, but who has been your stand out performer? As with previous years this award includes current players under the age of 23 with at least 4 first team appearances in all competitions: Bobby Pointon (Central Midfield) Jenson Metcalfe (Central Midfield) Ethan Wheatley (Centre Forward) Voting starts today, Friday, March 13th and will end on Friday 17th April. The Player Of The Year Dinner and results announcements will be on Wednesday, 22nd April 2026. To vote, simply email us your number 1 Young player at hello@bantamstrust.co.uk . You can also let us know via our Facebook Group and Likes page as well as on our Twitter page.
In attendance from the Club were, Ryan Sparks (RS) – Club CEO and Paula Watson (PW) – Director of Operations. Representing the Trust there was, Manny Dominguez (MD) – Chair, Matthew Pickles (MP) and Tony Deacon (TD). Apologies were given from Justin Bret (JB) – Trust Vice Chair Bantams Supporters Trust met with the Club on Monday 9 th Feb. We last met in November last year, so there was much to catch up on in an ever-moving feast. So, without further ado lets dive into it. Fans’ surveys We asked about a survey that the Club put out early on in the season regarding if fans were happy about the services the Club provide. The findings were not different to what they knew already. They wanted to see if the results backed the backed the opinion. Some highlights were, that the reception experience was good. Catering and queue times were poor - Supporters are still waiting too long. There are more Kiosks and space to use up, and more staff for Tiffin. Retail produces a turnover of around £1.2m and performing quite well, with year on year growth, though there is a wider target to reach the £2m mark. Children’s retail is up. It was raised that when they have tried to order shirts they have sold out. There have been 3 runs of the 2 nd and 3 rd kit as they have been so popular. It was explained that there is greater demand when there is a concern that something will sell out. There are a lot of collectors among football fans RS said. This is why within the retro market there are selected retro shirts out on sale for a limited time only to get them. It was said it is coming up to 40 years since the ‘Bradford Great City!’. And there will be other ‘strategic’ shirt designs produced by Macron. With regards to whether the EFL had sent the Club supporter responses related to their supported Club questions, the Club haven’t been sent them. Season ticket sales breakdown Again from the previous meeting, the Trust asked of the 13,000 renewals of season tickets this season, how many of them took up the Early Bird Offer. RS said it was 95%. A total of 16,000 overall bought this season’s season ticket. The postponement of the Rotherham game It was asked why the Club had put out a statement on the Friday saying it was going to be on. The response was that the referee had said the pitch was playable on that day and fans want to know as early as possible. Also, they were not expecting extreme weather conditions. The shadow of the main stand can make that area colder. The frost covers can cover and protect up to -2C but it got to -3 to -4 the following night. There was discussion of the viability of a protective dome covers and it was said they cost too much. As much as £250,000! Loyalty points threshold for away matches We asked about this because we received a query regarding them because it was felt they had been lowered. They had the view that the points system should only value those that had been to more games. The Trust view is whilst it does and should reward those that go to all, it should give the opportunity to buy for as many as possible. First of all it was said that the threshold will always vary based on the number of away tickets the club receives from the opposite team. It was raised that both Newcastle and Huddersfield could’ve given more, as many fans were disappointed in not being able to go. It was said that the points system, whilst there is no universally fair system, a closed shop would never allow the opportunity for others. It was noted that attendances have increased for the EFL Trophy matches to maximise on loyalty points. Next season’s season tickets There was a feeling of eventuality with this one, as it was said that there definitely will be an increase due to rising maintenance costs for the stadium, but for season ticket holders on direct debit it will just feel like other rising costs that we have to pay and we manage to pay them. To continue saying that will become harder year on year, if working season-ticket holder families or individual supporters’ wage incomes struggles to keep up with the rising cost of living. Supporters will still be able to pay in full, as there are a small number that do prefer paying this way. There will still be a 12 month direct debit plan and also there will be an option to pay over 3 months. If supporters stop payments for any reason, supporters will be given up to two months to communicate to find a way of continuing payments. After that their season ticket will be terminated and they will no longer be able to attend. Season ticket consultation We asked if there will be a consultation with Supporters Board and Supporters Trust. There would not be but an announcement is due in the coming weeks. The Trust feels it is a shame that this can’t be done. We are impressed that it was done last season even when the terms of the offer was already decided, and whilst there was very little time provided to consult with our members, it was still a positive achievement when it comes to fan engagement. We feel Club should aim to consult in future seasons. Overall capacity PW said that the actual capacity is 24,450, but for safety reasons that figure is not achievable. This is the reason they have the segregation and safety covers in the Midland Road and Kop respectively. With that, the capacity is around 24,100. Attendance at matches from next season Next season the Club will be bringing in a system where season ticket holders have to communicate if you can’t attend. We will still get our loyalty points but our seat will be able to be resold to others. We asked about those who have bought season tickets just to support the club, and said that that season ticket redistribution goes on amongst supporters anyway and will work in the same way. It was said those supporters who may have bought a seat to support the club would still need to say it’s free for Club resale. And the Club are aware re season tickets going to other supporter friends and family. It’s just if your season ticket can’t be used. In the Trust’s view, this may prove difficult to manage. They are also planning on installing a second segregation gate in the Midland Road stand, for greater flexibility. Matchday experience LED advertising Boards – we asked if the brightness could be lowered for night games as there are some people how have difficulty seeing the goalmouth action in front of them. It was said the brightness was already on one, the lowest setting. We noted that it had been turned down to that settling for the same reasons last season. It was said that at some point all the advertising boards around the ground will be like that. Congestion after the match - It has been noted that with the increased attendances there are issues of congestion all around from fans coming in, and queuing for food and drink, but also exiting the ground. Initially the discussion took us to the steps upon many exiting the NW corner and kop exit out of. It was said that extending the steps could cause potential accidents and it would encourage more to use them. As of now there have been no reported accidents. The opening up of the One In A Million car park helps divert supporters away from taking the route up the stairs. Then attention was focussed on the Kop as it is believed getting out from there is slow, as congestion builds on the aisle staircases. It was said that the average exit time out of the stadium is 10 minutes. It has been said previously that they had been looking at time-lapse film footage to understand how supporters are leaving the stadium and that they thought about adopting a staggered approach to supporters exiting the stadium. Father & Daughter toilets – MP reported that he struggles to find a cubicle available to take use daughter to use, and that the male toilets a generally poor, often with no toilet roll. PW said something like a family toilet is a good idea, and in the North lower Kop there is currently an unused toilet block facility that could be reopened as a family toilet. B Block – It was raised that the issues prevalent when B Block became the atmosphere area were still there. It was suggested a meet up with representatives of for and against were present at a meeting were both parties had to concede to find a happy medium. RS said he was happy for us to take the lead on that. Improving our structured dialogue / Fan Engagement It was suggested that The Trust seeks to meet Liam Mould (LM) the SLO on this and the Fan Engagement Plan (FEP). We asked if the Trust Statement was on the Fan Engagement Plan. PW showed us how to get to it. This is the link to the Fan Engagement Area , and within that area you an click onto the Supporters Trust Statement. MD asked if the Club had seen the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) Engagement survey, and the response was affirmative. MD reported he had filled the supporter representative part on behalf of the Trust. Football Governance Act and the Independent Regulator (IFR) MD reported that he will be hopefully attending an FSA Network meeting with a rep from the IFR as guest in the future. It’s not yet been scheduled. The FSA have produced an IFR guide for supporters which is here . Financial performance We asked if there is a 5-year plan or if there is any planning for where the Club wants to be. We understood from what was explained that there isn’t a plan as such but a broad direction in all departments and that is to improve from where we are now. We asked about the American sponsorship deal with Mbanq, and it is bigger than anything the Club has had before, but the Club will make announcements on this in due course. We asked if the Club could see sales in other departments, commercial sponsorship and TV deals etc. outstripping income from sales in season tickets and matchday tickets. It was explained that money from attendances is still very much the main income but the higher up you go in the pyramid, the income generated from that success becomes greater. We asked whether money will change the direction of the Club, RS explained that we are a community Club at core and we don’t want to change that.
