When the Mariners held the first fan forum at the start of the season an advisory group was set up to work to build a closer relationship with the club and give fans an opportunity to raise ideas, concerns and have direct input into how the community/supporter side of the Mariners is looked at.
When the Mariners held the first fan forum at the start of the season an advisory group was set up to work to build a closer relationship with the club and give fans an opportunity to raise ideas, concerns and have direct input into how the community/supporter side of the Mariners is looked at.
The group has been working extremely hard to get many things established, but most importantly they saw a need to get an official supporters club up and running. The Central Coast Mariners Official Supporters Club (as it will be known) intends to represent the views of all fans of the Mariners (both active and otherwise, members and non-members) to create a conduit allowing the suggestions and opinions of the fans to be discussed and considered by the club. With Central Coast Mariners staff representatives involved in the group, the basis for a true connection between the club and the fans is being built.
The group includes fans from the “Yellow Army” active support group as well as an excellent cross section of the clubs fan demographic: males and females, from High School students through all ranges of the age demographic and including parents and grandparents.
As the smallest club in the league with the smallest market and perhaps the most limited resources, crowds and atmosphere are always the focuses of negative comments from other A-League club supporters. Although there are other objectives, the fundamental aim of the supporters club centres around these two issues.
So far the group has been responsible for the re-creation of the match day fan march, the announcement of the players- names and attempts to involve the main crowd in some of the active supporter chants. Mariners match regulars will have noticed these things over recent times and this is just the start of the ideas the supporters club group intends to try.
While still in its early stages of development, it is a great opportunity to get involved now and help make this club something the whole Central Coast community can be proud of.
So, what will the supporters club really be about?
It will be about you, the lifeblood of the Mariners, the supporters. It will be about giving everyone the same equal right to put forward suggestions/ideas on how you would like to see your club move forward.
This club will be setup just like many supporters clubs around the world, where we will have special events running for supporters to get a more hands on feel to how our club runs and an easier way to ask questions of the club and put forward ideas for what you the fans would like to see happen in, and around supporter activity.
The Mariners have long been considered “the community club”. At times it may not have been as strong as it once was, but this is the perfect way to cement us back into the rightful place of the leading community club.
This Saturday, at the last A-League match at Bluetongue Stadium before the finals, the fan group intends to promote the concept by marketing the idea to every fan who attends. Flyers will be handed out to fans at the start of the march at Kibble Park and at the gates as people arrive at the match. The flyer will provide an opportunity for fans to write down their e-mail address and place it into collection boxes as well as including a link to the supporter clubs first web site. As the final steps are taken to form the Central Coast Mariners Official Supporters Club, those who submit their email address or check out the website will be kept up to date with progress towards an official launch expected to be before the beginning of next season.
This is your chance to become involved, show your support and help the Mariners become the best and proudest club in the A-League so don-t miss out.
See you at the game!
Erin Morrow
Central Coast Mariners Official Supporter Club
