Rangers Supporters' Trust

The Rangers Supporters' Trust is a pressure group made up of supporters of Rangers Football Club. Formed in 2003, it aims to pursue the club's interests robustly, monitor media output relating to the club and to project the views of ordinary supporters to the management.

In January 2003 three of the trust's founders (Mark Dingwall - editor of the Rangers fanzine Follow Follow, Colin Glass and Gordon Semple, later joined by Stevie Tyrie) decided to form a trust, after attending an open day held by Supporters Direct, an umbrella body for supporters' groups. Glass, the Trust's first chairman, met officials of Rangers in March 2003, and although the club declined the Trust's requests for help, a launch meeting was held on 5 April 2003, with former Rangers player Mark Walters as a guest of honour.

Since then the Trust has issued regular media releases, developed a Sharesave scheme (investing money in the Club in exchange for previously unissued shares), and maintained regular dialogue with the club’s directors. However, it has not yet been successful in its attempts to have a representative invited on to the Rangers board. Each Trust member has also been given a share in Rangers FC plc in their own name, thus allowing their attendance at the Club’s own AGM, and access to the Club’s annual accounts.

In the Summer of 2008, seven members of the twenty-strong Trust Board resigned over the issue of supporter representation on the Rangers FC plc board. These included the chair and vice-chair who had led negotiations with the chairman of Rangers FC, Sir David Murray. A majority of Trust board members were unhappy at the lack of progress and the lack of feedback and accountability shown. On 31 May 2008 Stephen Smith and Derek Howie (acting Chair and Secretary) assumed joint responsibility for conducting the Trust's business. Smith was subsequently elected as the Trust's chair, and media spokesperson David Edgar as vice-chair.