A BRIEF HISTORY OF LIVIforLIFE SUPPORTERS TRUST
The LFL Trust began when Kay Robertson, the Supporters Liaison Manager at Livi FC requested information on Trusts from Supporters Direct in Scotland, governing body of the Trust movement. At the same time long-time Livi supporter Brian Whitehead was investigating the Trust movement as a whole and Kay passed on the information she had.
Brian gathered all the research material he could find on how to set up a Trust, talked with James Proctor from Supporters Direct in Scotland, and began to look at setting up a Trust at Livi. As part of the Supporters Liaison ‘Fans Forum’ meeting at the club in Feb 2004, Brian presented the ethos of Trusts and made suggestions on the start-up process. He also posted information on the Livilions discussion boards website to gauge interest from supporters.
However events overtook the planning.
At the Fans Forum meeting in February the reps who were present were forewarned that the club would go into administration the very next day. In many ways this accelerated the development of the Trust. A crisis meeting was held in the Almondvale Suite where 400 fans turned up to hear about the Trust movement and how they could play their part in ensuring the future survival of the club through the building of a Fans Trust at Livi.
There was a flurry of activity during these first few weeks of uncertainty, and a number of initiatives, from bucket collecting to T-shirt selling, helped gather a significant amount of money for the LIVIforLIFE Association as it was then. The main mover and shaker in these activities was Peter Glasgow, and the Trust extends grateful thanks to him for all his hard work and enthusiasm.
A working group of supporters who showed an interest in the Trust movement was formed, and started to lay down the necessary, but laborious, legal groundwork to enable us to register as a Trust.
During this time of crisis the club achieved the remarkable success of winning the CIS cup!!
The period of uncertainty within the club seemed to go on forever and it looked for some time as if the club would cease to exist.
Those of us working to establish the Trust knew that the fans of Livi would not allow this to happen and we stepped up the pace of building a fans organisation which had the potential to keep the club in the heart of the West Lothian community.
The LFL Supporters Trust officially launched in September 2004.
We have successfully negotiated the purchase of a 1% shareholding in Livingston FC, and are continuing to build our shares fund for future purchases. We have worked with the supporters and the club to enable the building of a wheelchair-users shelter at the club. We are accessing a number of grants to help us work with the club on joint Youth Initiatives and other community developments, and have acquired a significant amount of investment for the club. We are building a number of links within the local business community, gaining valuable support and sponsorship to benefit both Trust and Club. In effect we have built a strong base for the Trust from which we can grow, now and into the future.
This club means a lot to its supporters, and has made a big impact in its short history to date. It deserves to have a secure future, and needs to be run with financial prudence and careful stewardship. The club belongs to the fans and to West Lothian and the LFL Trust will continue to build its membership, support, sponsorship and community links, with an aim of giving the fans of Livingston FC genuine lasting ownership in the club they love.