Welcome to my first regular Bulletin

I hope to use this platform to update our supporters on what’s happening about the Club.

I hope it can answer some of the “hot topics” that are under discussion at any time.

I’d like to start by thanking everyone who attended our first three home matches of the season, played under the Covid-19 Protection Protocols that dictated our arrangements for allowing fans to return to the stadium.

By necessity, we had to plan differently for each match given the limitations of the regulations and the geography of our stadium.

Regulations change tomorrow following the Scottish Government’s announcement of “Beyond Level 0” which starts at midnight tonight.

We are confident that come our next Home match against Albion Rovers on 28 August, we will be able to accommodate our Season Ticket Holders in their allocated seats for the first time since March 2020. We thank all of our supporters for their forbearance and understanding in matches so far.

Speaking of Season Tickets, a huge “Thank You” to our fans who have purchased tickets this year. The total sold so far – and they are still on sale – exceeds the numbers purchased in the previous two seasons.

What we’re not yet confident about is removing the need to maintain a “Red Zone” in the middle of the Home (West) Stand, in the seats normally used by visiting Directors and Hospitality guests, for the socially-distanced use of Substitutes, coaches, analysts etc. A Zoom meeting with SPFL League 1 and 2 clubs has been arranged for Wednesday. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the information provided in last Thursday’s update from Scottish Football’s Joint Response Group, to understand clubs’ views and to agree next steps. Included in that information was the need to maintain 2m distancing for Red Zone participants (playing squads, coaches etc). This impacts severely on the space allocated for changing facilities and seating arrangements in dugouts etc.

And speaking of Hospitality, we are working hard behind the scenes to find a solution to enable us to host Hospitality guests on matchdays, given the new configuration of space left available to us following Active Stirling’s review of their requirements for their own activities.

If you have any questions, or would just like to shoot the breeze, I can be contacted on jd@stirlingalbionfc.co.uk and can be seen swanning about on matchdays.

John Daly
Director – Supporters Liaison