We are pleased to announce the launch of the YCST Governance Report – a new members’ area of our website where we will set out, every month, how the Club and its shareholders are meeting the commitments made in York City Football Club’s Articles of Association and the All Shareholders Agreement.
Why we are doing this
Two things have changed this year.
In May 2026 the Club adopted new Articles of Association by special resolution, and on the 23rd of June 2026 a new All Shareholders Agreement was signed between the Trust, 394 Sports and the Club’s other shareholders. Together those two documents set out what the Trust is entitled to, what the Club has committed to, and what every shareholder has agreed to do.
At the same time, the Trust’s shareholding has changed. We sold 5% in June 2026 and a further 15% in July, and we now hold 5% of the issued share capital.
We want to be clear about what that does and does not mean. The Trust’s protections do not depend on the size of our shareholding. They attach to our A Ordinary Shares and to the Trust by name in the Articles, and they survived those changes intact. We still appoint directors to the Club board. A board meeting is still not quorate without them. The Club still cannot change the name, the badge, the home shirt colours or the stadium without our written consent.
Rights on paper are only worth what they are worth in practice, though. So rather than ask members to take our word for it, we are going to show you.
What the report contains
The report covers eighteen areas across seven sections, each one tied to a specific clause of the Articles or the Shareholders Agreement. Every area carries a traffic light – green, amber or red – and every section carries a top-level rating so you can take in the whole picture at a glance.
Where a rating is amber or red, we explain why, what we have asked for and what happens next. Where it is green, we say so plainly and move on.
We report on ourselves on the same basis. The Trust’s own governance is one of the seven sections, and it does not come out of the first edition unblemished.
We should set expectations honestly: the first edition contains greens, ambers and reds. A report that showed nothing but green would not be worth publishing, and it is not what we found. Everything in it has already been raised directly with the Club.
The report will be updated monthly, and previous months will remain available so members can see how things move over time.
Why this is for members only
The All Shareholders Agreement expressly preserves our right to report to our members on how the parties are adhering to it. That is the basis on which this report is published.
It is a members’ report by design, not by accident. As a shareholder, the Trust Board sees confidential information about the Club, and we take that responsibility seriously. Reporting frankly to the people we represent is a different thing from broadcasting to the world, and keeping it behind the members’ login is what allows us to be candid rather than cautious.
If you want to know what is really going on at your football club, and to see it assessed against the actual documents rather than through rumour, this is the single best reason we can offer to be a member.
How to read it
The Governance Report is at https://www.ycst.org.uk/governance-report/
Head to that page and you will be asked to log in. Use the email address you joined or renewed with, and you will be taken straight to the report. If you have forgotten your password, use the “Lost your password?” link on the login screen and we will email you a reset.
If your login is not working, or you are not sure whether your membership is current, please email membership@ycst.org.uk and we will sort it out.
Not yet a member?
Membership starts at just £10 a year and is open to anyone aged 16 and over. It gets you the Governance Report, a vote on the direction of the Trust, and a genuine say in the future of York City.
We have set ourselves a target of 2,000 members by February 2027, our 25th anniversary. Every single member makes our voice at the boardroom table that bit harder to ignore.
Join online today at https://www.ycst.org.uk/join/
The Trust will continue to work constructively with York City FC and with our fellow shareholders. Publishing this report is not a criticism of anyone – it is how a supporters’ trust holding rights on behalf of thousands of fans ought to operate, and how we intend to operate from here on.
About York City Supporters’ Trust
York City Supporters’ Trust is the fan-owned body that holds a shareholding in York City Football Club. Run by fans, for fans, we give supporters a real voice in the future of our club — on and off the pitch.
Not yet a member? Join online today at https://www.ycst.org.uk/join/ and help make our voice even stronger. Membership is open to anyone aged 16 and over, from just £10 a year.