Rangers Fans Launch Scheme Enabling Supporters To Buy Share Of Ibrox Club

A scheme to give fans of Scottish Third Division club Rangers a share of their club "has been launched" Thursday by supporters, according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The Buy Rangers campaign "was announced at Ibrox Stadium by the Rangers Supporters Trust with the backing of Supporters Direct Scotland, an organisation funded by the Scottish Government." The aim of the initiative "is for the trust to buy a shareholding of the club." An outline of the Buy Rangers campaign was presented by Rangers Supporters Trust board member Andy Sheppard. He said supporters were taken for granted in the past and had "no voice and no input." He also said that "the new scheme intends to reunite the club with its supporters." Supporters Direct already works with 40 clubs in the U.K. including four Scottish football clubs: Stirling Albion, Dundee, Stenhousemuir and Clyde. (DAILY RECORD, 11/8).

FANS TAKING CONTROL: In Glasgow, Richard Wilson noted that "the Trust scheme is designed to allow supporters to have an influence on how the club is run, since a large collective, holding a significant shareholding, will have more say than a single fan with a single share." The Buy Rangers campaign "will also begin at £125 ($200), and fans can invest up to £20,000 ($31,950)." They "will be buying a share in the RST," which functions as a Community Benefit Society and is authorized by the Financial Services Authority. RST Chair Gordon Dinnie said, "This is a great opportunity for fans to invest together and have a meaningful say in the future of our club. The more money invested, the stronger our collective voice" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 11/8).