National Supporters Club

BARROW AFC NATIONAL SUPPORTERS' CLUB

Formed way back in 1976 by a group of London-based supporters, the National Supporters' Club (NSC) currently has over 140 members worldwide.  As far as I am aware, Barrow AFC is the only non-League football club to have a national supporters' club.

The "National" in the title reflected the intention that the newly formed Club would cater for all Barrow supporters living away from the town, but with little or no organisation for supporters in the Furness area at the time, many home-based fans joined up.  Even today, a large number of our members live in and around Barrow.

Our aims are threefold.  Firstly, we aim to keep our members up-to-date with all things Barrow AFC - match reports, competitions, feature articles, statistics, etc.  This we do via our monthly newsletter, The Zigger, superbly edited by Grant Fallows.  Many of our members receive The Zigger electronically, but we still do old-fashioned technology and paper copies are posted to those who request them.

Secondly, we act as a forum for members' views, and provide a means of channelling those views back to Barrow AFC.  All members are invited to contribute to The Zigger, and it is always good to meet up with fellow members at Barrow matches up and down the country, where views are often exchanged.  The Board of Barrow AFC (most of whom are NSC members) are always represented at our AGM, which is usually held at The Furness Building Society Stadium in November, so are fully aware of our views and activities.  Although the NSC is independent of the football club, relations between ourselves and Barrow AFC are excellent.

Our third aim is to provide financial sponsorship to the football club.  Over the last five years, we have paid for, or contributed towards, a number of projects at The Furness Building Society Stadium, totalling over £6,000. These include the hospitality suites, the tannoy system inside the stadium and the new bar in the Crossbar.  We have in the past also sponsored the reserves and youth teams.  Compared to the BDF, these are relatively small amounts, but we would like to do more.  The Board have very ambitious plans to refurbish the ground in order to provide a stadium worthy of our wonderful fans, and worthy of League Two.  We would like to be able to contribute more to help these ambitions come to fruition.  So we need more members.

For just £6 per year (or £10 for a family membership), you can enjoy all the benefits of being a member of our happy band, whilst helping Barrow AFC achieve its aims.  Our Membership Secretary, Dave Leitch, is a founder member of the NSC and works very hard on our behalf.  The same can be said for our Treasurer, Chris Roddie, and also Bob Steed, another founder member and our representative on the Football Supporters' Federation.  If you would like to become a member, please complete the form and send to Dave.  Alternatively, if you see either Dave or myself at a match, please hand the form to one of us.

I hope we can welcome you on board in the very near future.

Yours in football,

Andy McKinnon (Chairman)

Download an NSC membership form

To contribute to the National Zigger please contact the editor Dave Ingham davidingham@holker.st