Fans launch Haven rescue bid

A group of Whitehaven supporters are looking at setting up a supporters’ trust to safeguard the future of the club, which is set to enter administration.

A steering group has already been formed and will work closely with the Supporters Direct organisation, which has already worked with a host of sports clubs, including Rochdale Hornets, who were established as a supporters trust run club last year.

The supporters have set up a new website at www.trustinhaven.co.uk to gain support for their plans.

In a statement, they said: “The revelations at the AGM that members of the current board intended to put the club into administration, clear the debts and regain control of the club within ten days has forced the steering group to act with haste in exploring the options open to fans.”

The website is aiming to gather as many supporters of rugby league in Whitehaven as possible, and plans to keep them all update with the progress of the steering group, with public meetings planned shortly.

A spokesman for the steering group said: “We have no agenda other than the continuation of professional rugby league at Whitehaven. We don’t want the recently celebrated 62nd birthday to be the club’s last.

“Clearly the ten day timescale for bids to run the club, which was only presented to shareholders on the Thursday night before a Bank Holiday weekend, presents us with a challenge, which is why it is vital that supporters of the club register their details via the website and we move quickly to fix up an open, transparent public meeting as quickly as possible.

“We are happy to work with anybody and everybody who is a supporter of Whitehaven Rugby League Club and we have no pre-conceived ideas about who should or should not be involved in the group going forward. All we want to do is set up a properly constituted and democratic organisation to and safeguard the club’s future.”