Details of ‘promising’ talks between Club 1872 and Rangers executives John Bennett and James Bisgrove have been made public.
The club’s shareholders, the supporters’ organization, maintain that multiple meetings have been held in an attempt to restore Club 1872’s relationship with the Ibrox powerbrokers.
They assert that’regular and substantive dialogue’ will now resume between the two.
The full statement from the group is as follows: “Members of the Club 1872 Board have met with RIFC Chairman John Bennett and CEO James Bisgrove on a number of constructive occasions since June of this year. The aim of the gatherings was to restore significant shareholder interaction with RIFC.
“We are happy to report that those talks have resulted in a wider framework of cooperation whereby RIFC will extend its assistance, wherever possible, to helping Club 1872 develop for the benefit of the larger Rangers Community. In addition, there has been an agreement to resume regular and meaningful dialogue between Club 1872 and RIFC.
“The following specific matters have been considered and, in principle, agreed upon, subject to the agreement of the contributors.
In order to prioritize funds for football-related matters and allow the Club to carry out much-needed reconstruction work at Ibrox, RIFC and Club 1872 will collaborate to find appropriate investment options. This will fund projects that will benefit the Club and the larger Rangers community, as well as allow Club 1872 to increase its ownership stake in the Club. In the upcoming weeks, Contributors will get details on the first of these cooperative projects.
2. In order to facilitate and give Club 1872 a chance to talk about significant shareholder issues, Club 1872 will hold regular meetings with James Bisgrove, the CEO, as well as discussions with the Chairman and other directors. We will explain to Contributors in the upcoming weeks how they can participate in those ongoing conversations.
3. In addition, during the season, there will be at least two distinct meetings that are intended especially to provide Contributors with a chance to meet and talk with officials of the Club regarding shareholder matters. The CEO will present the club’s strategy until 2030 at the first such meeting, which is scheduled for Q1 of 2024. The Executive team, including Chief Commercial Officer Karim Virani, Director of Football Recruitment Nils Koppen, Chief Financial Officer James Taylor, and Director of Football Operations Creag Robertson, will also be present. They’ll also answer inquiries about a variety of topics. In addition to being the Club 1872 annual Contributors meeting for 2023, the meeting will be held at Ibrox. The meeting for 2024 will be held in the summer.
In the upcoming year, Club 1872 will have access to office space at Ibrox Stadium thanks to the Rangers. This will facilitate our communication with Contributors and make it easier for them to get in touch with us directly.
“5. Lastly, Club 1872 will once again receive shareholder benefits like VIP hospitality passes and Directors Box seating. This will enable us to resume hosting our contributors in the Directors box on January 1st and to offer contributor experiences with a Rangers theme all year long.
“We would like to thank both John Bennett and James Bisgrove for engaging with us in recent months and we look forward to re-establishing a positive relationship with the RIFC board moving forward.”
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