PAST
Celebrating 20 years of community
In October, Exeter City celebrated 20 years of Supporters Trust ownership, during which time the club has transitioned from a club that was much loved yet facing extinction, to something completely transformed, with community at the heart of everything they do.
During the last 20 years, the Supporters Trust has contributed circa £2 million in donations to the football club. It has also sponsored the Exeter City Women’s team, the Sporting Memories initiative, and various Heritage Lottery projects within the grounds in promotion of the club’s history.
Back in November, we visited St James Park stadium, and as we stood at the top of the Big Bank (the largest standing terrace left in English football and the home of Exeter City Football Club) with Trustee of the Supporters Trust, Will Barrett, we realised just how central the football club is to Exeter.
Ahead of us is the spire of Exeter Cathedral and to our right, beyond the Adam Stansfield stand, we can see the University. As we walk down the steps and out of the ground, we see a Heritage Lottery funded plaque celebrating 20 years of the Supporters Trust. Exiting the turnstiles to our left is student halls of residence, the development which helped to support the construction of the Adam Stansfield stand. For these students, their local is The Centre Spot – Exeter City’s social bar – whose walls are adorned with a joint University-Club football photography project. This is another example of a club proud of its unique history, which includes being the first team to ever play Brazil in 1914. Throughout the entire stadium, there are reminders of how the supporters are embedded in the fabric of the club.
Our Own
For Grecians, only one word matters;
proud to say, ‘one of our own’.
We own our club. That word connects us.
Our Community. Our home.
At St James Park we have a voice.
We have the power, everyone.
Our football club is our platform
to make a difference, get things done.
We’re Exeter, we’re red and white.
We speak together, openly.
This is our story, honest fight.
We took the leap, and now we’re free.
Robert Casey
Commissioned by BBC Radio 5 Live as part of its Word Matters campaign and read aloud by fans at St James Park on Saturday 4 September 2021.
We spoke to three alumni of the University – Will Barrett (BA History and Archaeology, 2009; MA Archaeology and Heritage Management, 2012; PhD English, 2019), Marcus Flitcroft (Exercise and Sport Sciences, 2013) and Julian Tagg (Education, 1978), who have all played their parts in delivering the success Exeter City has enjoyed in the last 20 years, both on and off the pitch.
We asked Marcus, Technical Director, what his greatest achievement has been since joining the club after graduating and he said: “After three playoff final losses, being part of the backroom team that helped build and support the team to an automatic promotion back into League 1 was an incredible feeling. Also seeing and contributing to many good young players and staff grow and develop to have success on the pitch with Exeter City FC and beyond is great to be a part of.”
In the last 20 years, Exeter City have visited Wembley five times (having never previously done so in its history), earned three promotions, produced two home-grown international footballers (Ollie Watkins and Ethan Ampadu) and, perhaps most importantly, by working alongside the University are delivering huge public benefit to the Greater Exeter community.
The partnership with the University of Exeter, which began in 2011, has created several initiatives to support and benefit the local community. One of the projects which celebrated Exeter City’s rich history was the creation of the City Museum, delivered in 2018 by Will and Professor Gabriella Giannachi. The museum, which originally began as a number of items in ‘Paul’s cupboard’, was officially founded in 2018 to tell the story of the club, players, and fans. At present, the archive has more than 21,000 items of memorabilia for supporters to enjoy.
The partnership has also created more than 150 work placements, benefiting the club’s youth player development, ticket processing, and sports science capability. Julian, Chair of Exeter City Community Trust and President of Exeter City Football Club, said: “The partnership is one which has brought mutual benefits to both organisations and to the city. I am hugely proud of the work of the club’s partner charity – Exeter City Community Trust – and the positive relationships that we have developed with both individuals and institutions for the benefit of the people of Greater Exeter and beyond.”
Reflecting on how the club, the Trust and the University will continue to build the partnership over the next 20 years, Will said: “I’d like to think that there will be many more graduates who come from the University to work within the ECFC Family and support our ethos of delivering community benefit. Universities and football clubs – particularly a supporter-owned one such as ours – are organisations that support their local community, whilst providing incredible opportunities for personal and professional development. Through this, I hope that we will continue to drive opportunity in support of our city and shared aims.”
The club’s reputation on and off the pitch will continue to grow and develop thanks to the dedicated volunteers of the Supporters Trust and the inspiring work of the Exeter City Community Trust. None of the club’s history or success would be quite so special without its members and the local Exeter community. We look forward to seeing what the club and the University will deliver in another 20 years’ time (at least).
