The following candidates are standing for re-election: Alasdair Bell; Emily Broome; and Paul Cuffe.
The following candidates are standing for election: Bini Joshi Barr; Alice Broome; Paul Cooney; Phillip Ross; and Tristan Wooller.
Please find the candidates' statements below.
Bini Joshi Barr
I have been involved with HTSA for the past couple of years and been a Town fan all my life. I was co-opted onto the Board a year ago as Community and Events Officer. In my time on the Board I have run a very successful, fun quiz night, helped develop relationships with community groups and also raised awareness of local charities. Sadly, Covid-19 has limited any events we had planned, but we have remained active in our community and involved with DASH, Ruddi’s Retreat, the Welcome Centre and other Covid-19 Mutual Aid Groups. I have been involved in Fans For Foodbanks and Women at the Game for the past three years, initiatives which are very important to me. I’d like to get stuck into diversity in football and the fanbase next!
As part of being on the HTSA Board, I have been involved in structured dialogue with the club and also more recently, with the EFL on behalf of both the HTSA members and wider fanbase. I’ve enjoyed this immensely as I am able to communicate a variety of opinions on our behalf and I enjoyed finding out what people think about big issues.
I’d love to meet you all, whether in person or virtually to talk about/hold fundraising and social events. Also talk about how best we can support local groups, charities and those less fortunate. Despite the many challenges this year has brought, I am looking forward to working alongside fellow Board members and wider society to help keep our football club at the heart of our community, accessible to all.
Alasdair Bell
I have served as an HTSA Board member for a total of 3 years. I have served as the association's Treasurer for the last 2 years. As Treasurer, I have struck the balance between prudence on expenditure and ensuring HTSA is an effective supporter's trust and important part of the local community.
In addition to my duties as Treasurer, I have also been involved in the HTSA Heritage Project, supported local foodbanks as part of our Fans for Foodbanks initiative, and engaged in structured dialogue with the club on behalf of HTSA members and the wider fanbase.
To meet the financial challenges of a post-Covid world, HTSA will need to raise funds via grants and virtual events. I hope to help the Board carry this out.
I also want to be involved in work related to governance reform of professional football in the UK as part of the wider football movement, which is long overdue.
Emily Broome
For those who don’t know me, my name is Emily Broome and for the last couple of years, I have served as the Women’s Officer for HTSA. In fulfilment of my duties, I have overseen the Women at the Game initiative and recently joined the FSA Women’s Game Network. In the coming years, I hope to build on the success of our previous women and girl focused campaigns. I also hope to continue helping with organising charity events such as tournaments and quizzes.
Alice Broome
I am standing for election to keep the Board up to date with any relevant policy related news, as I believe understanding new policies/reforms and keeping abreast of the news is becoming increasingly important—especially now, with potential reforms to financial fair play rules and governance brought about by Covid-19. As a student, I am used to keeping up to date with the news and reading policy, and I will aim to bring a young person’s perspective to HTSA. I have previously been involved with HTSA, helping out with the Women at the Game events, and also completing the Fans for Foodbanks walk last December.
Paul Cuffe
I have served as a board member for a total of 3 years and I have served as Digital Secretary for the last 2 years. As Digital Secretary, I have helped the trust to operate and be visible in the digital space, as well as overseeing its online surveys.
In addition to my duties as Digital Secretary, I have also been involved in the HTSA Heritage Project, supporting local food banks as part of our ‘fans for foodbanks’ initiative, and engaged in structured dialogue with the club on behalf of HTSA members and the wider fanbase. I also, before the merging of the organisation was elected to the Board of Supporters Direct, representing HTSA and Huddersfield Town fans.
Paul Cooney
I'm seeking your support to become a member of the HTSA Board, with particular focus on the Disabled Supporters representative role. If elected I will, of course, also represent all supporters in the full activities and responsibilities of HTSA. I live in the Marsh area and have supported Town since I moved here in 1991.
I'm now retired after working for BT for 24 years, and the NHS for 14 years. I bring experience and skills in organisational governance ranging from financial and quality management audit, personnel management specialising in employment law, and employment relations. I've been a Trades Union rep for most of my working life. I've also volunteered for a number of community organisations and held officer positions in them.
I'm a member of the Huddersfield Town Disabled Supporters Club and have their support in this application.
I fully support the aims of the Football Supporters Association "Sustain the Game" campaign.
Phillip Ross
I am a lifelong Huddersfield Town Fan and have been a season ticket holder for 25+ years. I've seen our club go through some jubilant highs, serious lows, and everything in between! As a fan I’m passionate about the club both in terms of on field success and off field reputation, and as an extension of that, the way in which our fans are represented to the club and wider audience. I believe that strong representation by the supporters association helps the fans to have a voice lobbying for their interests with the club and the wider footballing community and provides a good conduit for the club to connect with its supporter base more easily.
In my professional career I am a manager in a university. Part of my role includes managing graduation ceremonies which are large high-profile public events. I have a lot of experience in event planning and coordination, customer service and administration management. I have extensive experience in providing a social media and website management service.
For example, I currently admin a large, family-friendly, Huddersfield Town Fans Group (Facebook/Twitter) and also volunteer as co-chair and social media coordinator for a network for disabled people. I previously ran a charitable service – WRVS Kirklees Good Neighbours, the service covered the whole of the Kirklees area and I have successfully been a trustee on the board of the Take Heart charity based in at Leeds General Infirmary. I am a “people person” with excellent communication skills and I believe that tailored, two-way communication with people is key to building successful relationships.
I believe that these skills will enable me to help grow HTSA membership amongst Town fans and help to leverage existing connections with the club to help foster positive and successful working relationships. I co-chair a disability network at work and disability equality is something I’m very passionate about. I have coordinated several initiatives to promote disability equality, like the Bradford Purple Light Up, where I organised for prominent buildings in Bradford (I.e. The Alhambra Theatre) to be lit up purple for International Day of Disabled People. I am consulted regarding policy discussions to improve the conditions and experience for staff and students at the University. I feel that this is an area where football could be improved, especially with regard to the matchday experience for people with disabilities, particularly hidden disabilities.
My previous experience in promoting disability equality and increasing inclusion is something that HTSA could use to help improve the experience of our diverse fan base. As a member of HTSA I am always pleased to see the trust getting involved and supporting campaigns both locally and nationally. For me, as a father of a young girl, the Women At The Game campaign holds particular significance. I hope in the future that should she want to, my daughter would feel going to a football game is a normal thing for her to be able do. I’d hope that the atmosphere would be welcoming to all regardless of gender.
The longstanding Fans For Foodbanks campaign is another source of pride and shows the Huddersfield Town fan community coming together to benefit those who may be less fortunate or experiencing a tough time in their lives. I would very much like the opportunity to represent fans’ views as a member of the board of HTSA and feel strongly that my skills and experience could make a difference to the supporters association and the wider football community. Further information about my previous volunteering work is available on request – please do not hesitate to contact me for further detail or references.
Tristan Wooller
I have been a Town supporter for over 20 years and a season ticket holder for many of those years, with the gaps mainly due to being abroad. My main previous involvement with the club beyond being a regular supporter was my participation in the Pedal 4 Pounds 9 charity cycle ride in 2018. I was able to raise over £1,000 for charity as well as being part of a fantastic event, which is an established annual event organised by the club.
My main driver for wanting to become a board member of HTSA is to get more involved in improving the management and governance of professional football in England, from top to bottom, which was ultimately triggered by the recent events involving Wigan Athletic FC and now seems to be a greater issue in light of recent proposals by Liverpool FC (AKA Project Big Picture). I am also keen to lobby the relevant authorities and the club itself to ensure football supporters' (and specifically Town supporters') voices are better heard.