Sky Blue Trust

Supporters' Survey Results

Details: Published: 01 August 2014

The results of the first of our annual Supporters' Survey are being comprehensively analysed, and a full report will be published in a week or two, but we've had a number of questions from people about the results, so here's a short summary of our initial analysis. many thanks to those who completed the questionnaire.

There were 372 responses, of which 15 were incomplete. Three quarters of those responding were Trust members.
More respondents just looked for the results of games than went to Sixfields. (22% as opposed to 12% who either had a season ticket or went to at least one "home" game)
93% will not buy a season ticket if games are played in Northampton, and 88% won't attend any games at Sixfields
However, if games were played at the Ricoh, 54% would buy a season ticket.
82% intend to attend at least one away game next season
93% disagree with the statement "The club were right to stop playing at the Ricoh Arena" with 79% strongly disagreeing
Although almost 85% felt the rent at the Ricoh was too high, over 90% say that the club should have stayed.
72% would support the Council in not selling the Ricoh cheaply. However, 84% think it would be a good idea for the Council to lease it to the club.
Fans are divided over whether the Council want to force Sisu to sell the club, with a narrow majority believing they don't (52% to 48%)
Just under 10% think the Football League were right in allowing CCFC to play at Northampton
96% think the League haven't done enough to get the club back playing in Coventry, and believe they don't take supporters' feelings into account when they make decisions
When asked to say how much the club was to blame for the dispute, on a scale of 1-5 (where 1 = Not at all and 5 = completely), the average score was 4.58, as opposed to 2.97 for ACL, 2.96 for the Council, and 3.82 for the Football League
Asked to describe how they felt about the club building a new stadium, the vast majority (73%) believe it will never be built, and 17% completely oppose the idea. Less than 2% are "excited" by the prospect.
65% are not happy with the stadium being built, while 40% would be content if it were to be built in Coventry.
If a new stadium was built, 38% would not go, with 19% not attending any home games at all.
Only 5% had the involvement of the current owners (with or without an element of fan ownership) as their most favoured ownership model.
71% wanted to see full or part fan-ownership (excluding a partnership with Sisu)
Conversely, 63% had continued ownership by Sisu as their least favoured option.
85% would be prepared to pledge money to buy the club, with £100 being the most popular amount.

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No Game For Girls! Coventry goes back in time to 1917

Details: Published: 30 July 2014

Sky Blues Trust supports a unique football event in Coventry

Bank Holiday Monday 25th August

No Game For Girls poster Many of us associate the beginnings of ladies football in the city with Jimmy Hill in the 1960s, but Sky Blues Trust founder member and club historian, Lionel Bird has been working on a heritage project with Eyefull Productions and they have discovered women’s teams were playing in the city as far back as 1895. Ladies teams became very active during WW1, when women worked in the munitions factories in Coventry

The city’s famous names like Daimler, Rudge-Whitworth, Humber, Coventry Ordnance & White and Poppe’s, all had women’s football teams. The teams played to huge crowds and raised incredible amounts of money for injured soldiers and their families.

As ideas were being developed with Eyefull Productions, Lionel had the idea to stage a ‘recreation’ match. And as a result, a very special one off event to bring these footballing pioneers to light is taking place on Bank holiday Monday 25th August at the Butts Arena, Coventry.

Coventry City Ladies FC will dress up in WW1 style kits as the ‘Rudge-Whitworth’ and ‘Humber Ladies’ – and will recreate a football match from 1917. The very special match event is for the whole family whether you’re football fans or history fans. There’ll be kids entertainment, vintage stalls, hog roast and even a vintage ice cream van.

Gates open at 12pm with the match kicking off at 2pm

As well as having the support of The Sky Blues Trust, this unique project about Coventry’s footballing history is also supported by Coventry Former Players Association, and Coventry City Ladies FC.

For a direct link for tickets on the 25th August go to

www.facebook/nogameforgirls or nogameforgirls.eventbrite.co.uk

Adult early bird tickets £3.50 / £5.00 after 8th August

Children 12 years and under go free!

Tickets will be available on the day, but organisers recommend booking.

The 1917 match was actually played at the then Butts Ground, so Coventry will go back in time for one day.The No Game For Girls project manager, Fran Porter said, “We’re finding out so much about women’s football in Coventry. The city was one of a few cities during WW1 where women’s football became really big, which comes as no surprise really given Coventry’s passion for the game. We think the match at the Butts is a real chance to remember the women from 1917, and have a really unique day out’.

Lionel said: ‘This is a recreation of an actual 1917 match – which was the final in an ‘eight team tournament’, the first ever recorded competition between the munitionette teams, the women who worked in the munitions factories. This match will remember them. Not only their contribution to the war effort, but the achievements on the pitches of Coventry too’.

Women’s football became hugely popular, during and after WW1. So much so that two of the country’s most famous teams – Dick, Kerr’s Ladies and St. Helens played a match in 1921 at Coventry’s Highfield Road to a crowd of over 27,000 people!

Unfortunately, the FA didn’t like the success the ladies were having and in 1921, they declared that football was indeed “no game for girls’ and they banned ladies teams from playing on their pitches. Effectively stopping the progress of women in football for the next 50 years.

After the match on the 25th, the project will go on to produce a documentary and touring exhibition about WW1 women’s football in Coventry. Lionel will be working with the team from Eyefull Productions to uncover and tell the stories of the women, the men who supported the teams to establish and and life in the factories during the war years.

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