BWFCST Board Members

Terence Rigby

Chairman

Local barrister with expertise in areas of the law which are very relevant to setting up the Trust. Negotiating agreements and holding potential 'partners' to account.

BWFCST Board Members

The BWFCST Board was formed in August 2016 after the externally administered elections and is made up of the members below. Opportunities exist for all BWFCST members to put their names forward for a variety of co-opted board positions or for involvement in several Working Groups. If you are interested in becoming involved, please email your details and any relevant information to enquiries@bwfcst.co.uk

Mike Smith

Board Member

Bolton Wanderers supporter and season ticket holder for over 43 years. Influential in the formation of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters' Trust.

Maggie Tetlow

Board Member

Lifelong fan and season ticket holder. With a background in Media, Maggie is committed to raising the profile of the Trust and its objectives and bringing the passion back to the club.

Robin Fletcher

Board Member

It was good news to hear I had been given a place on the BWFCST’s Board. The news was tempered by the Corona Virus pandemic.

I have been a Bolton Wanderers supporter since the 1960’s and a season ticket holder for nigh on 50 years.

I believe the Trust is the best vehicle for supporters to safe guard the long term future of the Club. Furthermore, the more members the Trust has the more influence it can bring to bear.

It is my aim that all supporters become members of the Trust. All members should be encouraged to be active including standing to be Directors on the Board.

In this time of National Emergency it is difficult to ask people to engage with the Trust, particularly when personal hardships are unknown, however it is a time to ensure that when the pandemic is under control we are best placed to help to get BWFC back on track.

Paul Wood

Board Member

I consider the trust the only true vehicle available to the ordinary supporter to enable us to have a voice and influence. I wanted to help out in our hour of greatest need under/after our last ownership challenges.

Individually we are just customers, but collectively we must safeguard and represent the true stakeholders of our great club, the Supporters, who are the lifeblood of any football club.

The coming months will present huge challenges for all UK business, especially football clubs in the lower leagues.

BWFCST has never been more important than in the coming months and I would encourage all supporters to become members and help the trust in any way possible.

Sue Higson

Board Member

I feel really privileged to sit on the Board of BWFCST, having signed up to be a member on that evening in January 2016 when more than 1000 of us came together in the Platinum Suite with a shared concern about our club.

I’m just a regular fan. BWFC became part of who I am back in December 1977 when my Dad took his then 10 year old daughter to her 1^st game. He didn’t think I’d like it……..43 years later, I’m still a season ticket holder.

I joined the Trust because I care about the club’s future, and I care about our fans being a key part of that future. But now more than ever, we’re in uncharted territory.

Covid-19 is world changing. Football, our club, its staff, our supporters and the Bolton community will all feel its effects in ways none of us could have ever anticipated.

When the time is right, we have an opportunity to reconnect, grow our membership and collaborate with the club; so that we ALL become part of bringing both pride and success back to Bolton Wanderers.

For now, we all need to focus on staying safe and supporting those whose need is the greatest.

I don’t profess to have all the answers, but BWFC matters; and I am committed to doing the best I can for our club and our supporters.

Ian Pegg

Board Member

I was so pleased to gain a place on the BWFCST Board, at what promises to be an interesting and exciting time for BWFC and it’s supporters.

I attended my first match at Burnden Park at the age of 7 and have been a loyal supporter for the past 61 years. I am a season ticket holder and sit in the West Stand Upper.

I believe that the supporters are the heartbeat of our club and that the Trust is the right avenue for them to engage with the club.

It is essential that the Trust Board has full dialogue with the club, taking into account the wishes of supporters whilst supporting the club in its objectives. This I believe has started to happen with the new owners.

I want to see the very best for BWFC and it’s supporters and with your help and cooperation the BWFCST Board can play a major role in achieving this, and I commit to doing my very best to represent all members and supporters.

Martin Parnell

Board Member

I have been following Wanderers since New Year’s Day 1960 when my Dad took me to an away game at Everton. I left the North West after University and have lived in Sussex for the past 35 years. I have been a member of London Whites since 1990 and travel all over the country, and Europe in the good years, following Wanderers.

I feel that football is at a crossroads in 2022 with the Fair Game initiative and the Fan Led Review giving supporters the chance to start taking the ‘beautiful game’ back from corrupt owners and giving the entire pyramid a chance to survive. Sharon and the Board seem committed to do football ownership ‘the right way’ and I see the Trust Board as an opportunity to be the ‘Shadow Board’ envisaged in the legislation going through Parliament. I am pleased to be part of that revival of ‘football for the fans’ and I believe that the Trust can help to make that happen at Bolton.

Alan Houghton

Board Member

I have been supporting the one and only Wanderers for over 60 years through thick and thin, enjoying the ups and suffering the downs. I have survived relatively unscathed, and I am looking forward to seeing the club back on its feet again and rising up the football ladder.

Every fan has their own view of the matches, the management, the team, the matchday experience and it is important to gather these views and act upon them where they are relevant. I want supporting Bolton Wanderers to be a pleasure and I will endeavour to do whatever is within my power to make it so.

I am also the current Chair of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Association and the writer of the weekly fan's report in the Bolton News.

Ian Bridge

Secretary

As a lifelong BWFC supporter I started watching the Whites back at Burnden in the early 60’s and my first hero was Eddie Hopkinson, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing when my club was in distress and in late 2015 I contacted Supporters Direct and asked what was involved in setting up a Supporters’ Trust as we didn’t have one at the time I was introduced to several likeminded individuals including Mike Smith and Chris Peacock and in January 2016 after over 1,000 passionate BWFC fans voted unanimously to proceed we formed Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust and the rest is history. I am currently Trust Secretary having previously held the chairman’s role. I can only add how proud I am to have been involved with the current trust board in achieving many milestones always with the best interests of my fellow Wanderers fans as the focus the major one being winning of the EFL fan Engagement Award inn 2023. I am also a director of Fair Game as I have a passionate belief that the English Football pyramid needs protection and the introduction of an independent Regulator is way overdue. I’d like to thank all BWFCST members for their support over recent years.
COYW!

Toughsheet Community Stadium, Burnden Way, Bolton

Terence Rigby