On Friday August 2nd, representatives of We Are The Rovers met with club CEO Steve Waggott and COO Suhail Shaikh to discuss recent events and raise ongoing supporter concerns. During the meeting we touched on three main areas: - The lack of clarity around the ongoing court case - Questions about the owners ability/willingness to fund the club - Level of communication and engagement We impressed upon them the growing concern that supporters have around the ongoing legal issues involving the owners, which appear to be impacting the clubs ability to function. We stressed that if the owners are either unwilling or unable to run the club on a benefactor model, placing the club up for sale was the only viable option. The forthcoming 20th August Delhi High Court case was also discussed. It was reiterated to WATR that the forthcoming 20th August Delhi High Court hearing is seen as an opportunity for the Owners to agree a better solution is in place for remittance of funds to BRFC in the UK, and that the Owners are committed to continue to fund any losses of Blackburn Rovers for the coming season. It was highlighted that much of the unrest is a result of a void in communications, and the need for a full explanation of the current position is required directly from the club. As a result of this initial meeting, it was agreed that a wider consultation between the club and a broad range of supporters and fan groups should take place at an appropriate time in the future. Planning for this is ongoing and further details will be provided in due course. The COO has agreed to attend future scheduled WATR Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) meetings on a regular basis. Work will also be undertaken to allow regular communication and, if possible, in person meetings between the Owners and representatives of WATR in the future. While the meeting was positive overall, and welcomed by both WATR and the Club, it is only the first step to improving engagement between the club and its most important stakeholder - its fanbase.

https://mcusercontent.com/f646174da39488e19ed1200d3/images/f8b32a03-310e-b17a-b39e-07e79f98a2f3.png AGM Agenda Wednesday 26th June - 7pm Blackburn Rovers Senior Training Centre SECTION A: AGM Business Welcome from Mike Graham, Chair of We Are The Rovers Minutes of the AGM held 22nd June 2023 (MG) - View on our website Chair’s Report for 2023 - written report - followed by questions (MG) - View on our website Election of Additional Board Members for 2024/25 (Linda Chelton) Adoption of Annual Accounts to June 2023 (Peter Dickinson) Membership Report (Marc O’Neill) SECTION B: Presentations on the work of We Are The Rovers (each presentation followed by a brief Q&A) The Rich and Unique Heritage of Blackburn Rovers (Steve Williams) Season Ticket Discussions and Fan Engagement in 2024/25 (Duncan Miller) SECTION 😄 Our Keynote Speaker (session chaired by Steve Williams) John Eustace our Head Coach will speak on the recent end of season challenges and looks forward to the coming season. This will be followed by a brief Q&A* session. (*written questions can be submitted during the meeting) RAFFLE Please note that WATR have arranged a free raffle for supporters attending this AGM. At present the prizes are: 1st - Fully signed and framed 2023/24 first team shirt. 2nd - £30 meal voucher for the excellent Cavendish Arms, Brindle near Chorley. 3rd - Adidas Spezial ‘coffee table’ Decades Book signed by Gary Aspen with an Arte Et Labore message. 4th - Team sheet from the Rovers v Newcastle FA Cup game signed by Sammie Szmodics. We will also be live streaming the event. A link will sent out by email on the morning of the 26th June. The meeting will finish at 9pm at the latest.

Player Meeting - Statement Representatives from We Are The Rovers joined other fan groups and individuals to meet with a delegation from the club, including 5 senior players on Wednesday 7th February. This was arranged with less than 24 hours notice. This meeting was never intended to be secret, but the fact that a breech in GDPR led to immediate speculation amongst the wider fanbase meant issuing a collective and comprehensive review by attendees became difficult. We were still sat round the table when CCTV footage started circulating and speculation began. We have a platform to put questions and suggestions to the club on a regular basis. Our next meeting with the Club on the basis of our Memorandum of Understanding is scheduled for next week. The discussions and outcomes will be comprehensively minuted and publicly available, we continue to seek input and questions to pose from our members. Other groups/individuals in attendance do not have that mandate, and this meeting presented them with an opportunity to voice concerns that many of their members, followers and fellow supporters have been raising. All supporters and players were given opportunities to speak, and there was a frank discussion around current form and morale in the squad. Nobody in the room was happy with current results and agreed they need to improve as a matter of urgency. The players were critical of their own performances. There was naturally discussion about the atmosphere at the QPR fixture. It was made very clear that any booing and chanting was not simply a result of that performance, but a culmination of anger and frustration at current events at board and ownership level that have been prevalent for many years. We Are The Rovers have repeatedly challenged the club to work with supporters on improving the match day experience and atmosphere. The players were in agreement with us that this should be addressed. Simply, a lively atmosphere is preferable to a lack of atmosphere, and a toxic atmosphere can be demoralising. A more in depth review from other perspectives will be shared by the respective attendees, but some takeaway points from us: - It was interesting to see players questioning Steve Waggott on ticket pricing. A drum we constantly bang. - Players were as vocal, disappointed and angry as anyone round the table regarding the Duncan McGuire transfer saga. - The players and the fans share the same opinion that current results have not been good enough, and a strong desire to see them improve - There was no attempt to try to silence voices, quash criticism, or avoid issues from anyone involved. Everyone did however express a desire to come together and ensure the season does not end in relegation. - There has been speculation about certain elements of the meeting not being shared with the wider fanbase. We were made aware that there would likely be upcoming media speculation, which occurred before we left the venue. https://www.roverstrust.com/news/player-meeting-statement

February 2024 Newsletter Dear Member, Your Rovers Trust Board clearly have concerns with the current issues surrounding our football club. As such we held an emergency meeting of the We Are The Rovers (WATR) Board on Sunday evening 4th February. You will be aware WATR recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the club. This provides us with an excellent opportunity to raise issues and concerns with representatives of the owners. The next MoU meeting is on the 15th February. We have asked if this meeting can be brought forward given our concerns. The MoU meeting will give your Board the opportunity to raise our serious concerns on the following areas: ownership; finances; club communications; culture; and reputational damage. We can assure you the above will be robustly and properly raised on behalf of our WATR members and the wider fanbase. We will keep you updated.

Newsletter: January 2024 Our latest ‘We Are The Rovers’ Supporters Trust Board Meeting took place on the evening of the 23rd January. This newsletter records the key outcomes of the discussions from that meeting. ‘Fans Takeover’ Games We had a full discussion on fan takeovers, and it was agreed that the atmosphere at both the Girona pre-season friendly and the Watford league game were the best at Ewood for some time; this was achieved due to the initiative of the Supporters Trust. The Trust welcomed the support and commitment from Club staff for the Watford and Girona games and the excellent support from 4000 Holes, brfcs.com, Rovers Chat, Proud Rovers, Her Game Too, and the South Asian Supporters group. The Board reiterated its own commitment and resources for future fan takeover events as building new support, retaining existing support and re-engagement of lost support is a key part of our remit as a Trust. The Board also wanted to see what the Club’s medium to long term plan is for the building support base and improving what we believe to be a very poor match day atmosphere. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) The Board reiterated its commitment to the MoU. It is an important agreement, a unique line of engagement with the Club, and is a precursor to a Shadow Board. The next MoU is on 15th February and the Board agreed our representatives for that meeting. Our agenda items to be shared well in advance with the Club presently are: Fans Takeover Club Communications (and the need to share more re finances) Club Finances* Season Ticket Offering for 2024/25 Engagement with the Club Owners Heritage (150th Anniversary Arrangements / Rovers Museum) * We will express our concerns regarding the ongoing 1/4’ly Delhi High Court applications for essential funding to ensure statutory payments re maintained and staff are paid. Of particular concern to us is that we believe we are subject to the agreement of a Court many thousands of miles away; Court documents (31/10/2023) state ‘the inquiry which is going against the Petitioner is only at the nascent stage’, thus suggesting to the Trust Board the process of High Court applications could continue for a lengthy period of perhaps some years. We will also be asking for agreed minutes of the MoU meetings to be published on the Club’s website. If members have any suggestions as to additional agenda items, or points you wish us to stress then please email us via: [email protected] Heritage Our Heritage led Steve Williams is making a presentation at Blackburn Library on ‘Rovers Past & Present’ on the evening of the 8th February; this is supported by ‘We Are The Rovers’. We are also looking to repeat the event in the spring at a venue in Chorley as part of our outreach work to supporters outside of BwD. ‘We Are The Rovers’ AGM The Supporters Trust Annual General Meeting will take place on the evening of 26th June 2024. We are presently sourcing a cost-effective venue. Members will be advised in advance. A signed and framed Rovers 2023/24 shirt has been donated by a Trust Board member as a raffle prize. We will also look at the possibility of live streaming the event. South Asian Supporters Launch Steve Williams will be making a presentation on Rovers Heritage and History to the SAS launch event at the QPR game on Saturday 3rd February.

Our home fixture against Watford on December 23rd will see the second Fan Takeover day. Following on from the success of the pre season fixture against Girona a number of supporter groups/organisations will be working with the club to bring you a Blue and White Christmas. We think that with the great value of the ticket offering we can help attract a bumper crowd and that Rovers fans from far and wide will come and cheer the team on. We hope those supporters who will be back in Lancashire for the festive period will come along, or why not gift a ticket as an early Christmas present to a friend or family member who hasn’t been to Ewood in a while? We’d like to see everyone in their colours, and the theme of the day is Blue and White Christmas. We Are The Rovers will be unveiling some new crowd banners we hope will become a fixture at home and away games going forward - please bring your banners and flags and get behind the boys! As well as the usual match day offerings there will be festive food and drink choices and offers on the concourse. We will be joined by other fan groups, including our good friends at BRFCS and 4,000 holes, Her Game Too, Proud Rovers and Rovers SAS in the fanzone prior to the game. We’ll have some festive gifts to give away and some activities planned. We’ll also be selling gift membership packs for anyone in need of a last minute present for the discerning Rovers fan. There’ll be plenty of updates between now and then so keep your eyes peeled here and on our new look website for that, as well as some exclusive fan driven content from BRFCS, the 4000 Holes podcast and Rovers Chat in the build up.

The below was sent to Steve Waggott yesterday: Dear Steve, The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust ‘We Are THE Rovers’ are most concerned at the latest Indian Government Enforcement Directorate (ED) action against the owners of our Club. We understand the investigation relates to “illegal remittances made by the company since 2010, till date, to its wholly owned subsidiary named Venky’s London Limited, Cardiff, UK.” The ED appears to directly implicate transactions relating to Blackburn Rovers. Clearly this is of major concern to our Supporters Trust. At the very least we would like to see a public statement from the Club as to any implications for Blackburn Rovers; we do however recognise you will want to pass any statement before the Club owners. Our next Trust meeting is not with yourselves until the 14th November, this is over one month away. If at all possible we would like the opportunity of an earlier meeting to discuss the single issue of the serious enforcement action against the owners, their future commitment to our Club and day-to-day funding. Can this please be arranged with some urgency even if it via Zoom? Regards, The We Are The Rovers Board

We are delighted to announce that the Rovers match against Girona on 29th July will be sponsored by the Supporters Trust, We Are The Rovers. Working with the club and other supporter groups we aim to provide a unique fan-led experience before, during and after the game. There’ll be plenty of exciting and exclusive content for you in the build up to the game, courtesy of BRFCS and Rovers Chat. Missed your physical match day Programme? It’s coming back for the day, courtesy of 4,000 Holes. Ever dreamed of hearing your favourite song played at Ewood? Well we’re taking over the playlist and we’ll be taking requests. There will be stalls at Ewood where you can find out about the work we and other fan groups have been doing. We’ll also be joined by the Community Trust who will be providing a number of activities suitable for all the family. We appreciate the club’s efforts to make the game affordable, but recognise times are tough. The Supporters Trust will be providing a limited number of tickets to individuals and families who are facing financial hardship currently. The party will continue after the full time whistle when we will be joined in Blues Bar by an exciting band with a local connection. Football without fans is nothing, and we hope we make this a memorable occasion for you all. We Are The Rovers

Just a reminder that our AGM will take place this Thursday in the Red Rose suite at Ewood Park, starting at 7:15pm. Existing and potential members are welcome to attend and we’d love to see as many of you there as possible. No tickets are required and you can just turn up on the evening. There’ll be refreshments and members attending will receive a free raffle ticket for the chance to win a special prize! Not only do we want to share our recent activities and achievements with you, we want your input on the future direction of your Supporters Trust. This is particularly important for us at the moment as we enter a new phase of increased supporter influence at the club. If you would like to become more involved or have any questions, we’d love to hear from you so please feel free to reach out for more information. We hope to see you on Thursday.

It conveys different things to different people though. To some Rovers Trust is a protest group. To others it’s an entity trying to buy BRFC. Rovers Trust also leads to a lot of confusion with the Community Trust We want it to convey that the Supporters Trust if open to absolutely all of our fans, and that supporters are the lifeblood of the club.

June 2023 is an important month in the lifetime of Rovers Trust. Above is our new name. Very soon you will see publicity about the Trust signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Club and on Thursday June 22nd we hold our 2023 AGM this time in the Red Rose Suite, Ronnie Clayton end at Ewood Park. The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust was founded on the belief that supporters are the one constant at any club. Without fans, football serves no purpose and as such our interests should be at the forefront of any club’s decision making and supporters should hold influence at the highest level. The recent Fan Led Review on Football Governance, to which The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust contributed significantly, represents an opportunity for supporters to finally have their voice heard and recognised by our club. Having operated under the Rovers Trust banner for over a decade, we believe now is the ideal time to move forward with a new identity: WE ARE THE ROVERS. We believe that all fans are equal and deserve their say in how our club is run. Players, managers, CEOs and owners come and go but supporters remain the one constant. It’s our club, and WE ARE the Rovers. We are immensely proud of our club’s rich history and heritage. The first and original Rovers, our team have been at the forefront of the game for almost 150 years. We are the most successful town team in world football. We are the only team to have won major honours in three centuries. We are THE ROVERS. We are not a supporter group, and remain a Trust in practical terms. We are still registered as BRSIT CBS LIMITED and remain regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are open to all regardless of location or background.Any person aged 18 or over can join and will receive the same voting power and say in the direction we take as any other Member. As a member of WE ARE THE ROVERS, you also become a minority Shareholder in Blackburn Rovers Football Club! And an opportunity to serve on any future ‘Shadow’ Board. MOST IMPORTANTLY the AGM is a key event of the Year. 4 Board Members have shown their keenness to serve another term: John Murray (Chair); Duncan Miller (Communications); Peter Bolton (Fans Forum and Finance); and Andy Young (National Issues inc White Paper). Mike Graham (currently co-opted) and Linda Chelton have indicated their wish to become Board Directors – this allows us to co-opt up to 6 more Board Members. The AGM will explain what in practical terms the MoU and the White Paper will lead to. We will also explain the ‘reasons’ to re-brand and the Membership drive. The more members we have, the more likely we will be to succeed in our collective aims. Recent positive discussions with the club, coupled with upcoming legislative change, mean we want to increase not only our core membership but our board and working parties too. We are moving into an exciting new phase – and we’d love you to be part of it. AGM: Thursday 22nd June @ Ewood......starts 7pm with Celebrity Mastermind featuring our Guest, Tim Farron MP. WE ARE THE ROVERS

Finally, the Govt has published its White Paper on football governance. Rovers Trust welcomes this. Our initial impressions are generally favourable. The key recommendation of the Fan Led Review: the creation of an independent regulator. Now that this has been endorsed and we believe this to be vitally important. Our hope is that legislation is brought forward as soon as possible to ensure the recommendations are brought in. We believe this to be good for supporters and football clubs in general.

For over a decade, the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust has been imploring the owners and those they have charged with running the club to engage with the wider supporter base and to listen to our concerns over the way the club operates. The last 48 hours have once again demonstrated a distinct lack of care and attention from those entrusted with the running of the club, and by extension, the owners. The debacle surrounding the failed deadline day signings is another example of incompetence and an inability to perform the basic duties necessary to provide a functioning football club. The fans, without whom the club would serve no purpose, have been left in limbo, let down and treated as an irrelevance. We deserve better than farcical situations like this. Having witnessed a poor second half to last season, there was something of a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the summer appointments at the club, now the remainder of our season appears to have been sabotaged by carelessness. AGAIN, we implore the club to engage with us. Swathes of empty seats, closed stands, record low gates since the Ewood redevelopment, should all be an indicator of current supporter feeling. We have attempted to convey the mood of the fans and offered ideas, initiatives, and assistance to help address this. However, embarrassing situations like this will only serve to turn apathy into anger. The fans are the beating heart of any club - WE ARE THE ROVERS – but after over a decade of neglect and disappointment, many of us have never felt so detached from the club. Change is long overdue. We expect the individual(s) responsible for this latest fiasco to be held accountable. On the back of the excellent fan-led review of football governance and the imminent Government White Paper, The Rovers Supporters Trust calls on the club to form a strategic alliance with a wide range of elected supporters in the form of a shadow board, with the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust at the heart of it to ensure the long term future of the club.

For over a decade, the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust has been imploring the owners and those they have charged with running the club to engage with the wider supporter base and to listen to our concerns over the way the club operates. The last 48 hours have once again demonstrated a distinct lack of care and attention from those entrusted with the running of the club, and by extension, the owners. The debacle surrounding the failed deadline day signings is another example of incompetence and an inability to perform the basic duties necessary to provide a functioning football club. The fans, without whom the club would serve no purpose, have been left in limbo, let down and treated as an irrelevance. We deserve better than farcical situations like this. Having witnessed a poor second half to last season, there was something of a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the summer appointments at the club, now the remainder of our season appears to have been sabotaged by carelessness. AGAIN, we implore the club to engage with us. Swathes of empty seats, closed stands, record low gates since the Ewood redevelopment, should all be an indicator of current supporter feeling. We have attempted to convey the mood of the fans and offered ideas, initiatives, and assistance to help address this. However, embarrassing situations like this will only serve to turn apathy into anger. The fans are the beating heart of any club - WE ARE THE ROVERS – but after over a decade of neglect and disappointment, many of us have never felt so detached from the club. Change is long overdue. We expect the individual(s) responsible for this latest fiasco to be held accountable. On the back of the excellent fan-led review of football governance and the imminent Government White Paper, The Rovers Supporters Trust calls on the club to form a strategic alliance with a wide range of elected supporters in the form of a shadow board, with the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust at the heart of it to ensure the long term future of the club.