Accies Supporters Association Quarterly Meeting
Thursday September 11th, 2025
Minutes
On stage were Brandon Coghill (BC) (Co-Chair), Colin Hamilton (CH) (Co-Chair), Ewan Summers (ES) (Communications), Lewis Gilpin (LG) (Secretary)
Other planned speakers were Davy Russell – MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse (DR), Andrew Soutter (AS), Ross Latimer (RL)
BC: Thanks everyone for attending. It has been a busy three months since the ASA was reformed and meetings in Bay Horse took place to discuss the state the club was in. Discussed the importance of unity amongst fans. Recognised that people have different opinions but we are welcoming of anyone wanting to be involved. There may be light at end of tunnel in terms of the club’s current status with talk of potential investment and it is really important as a fanbase that, while different opinions are acknowledged, we need to come together.
CH: It’s been a tough time for Accies fans. Unity very important. Committee and wider volunteers have had disagreements on a range of subjects as is to be expected in difficult circumstances, but we hope that by sharing information tonight it will help provide an understanding of the work that has been done to date. A lot of work has been put in by many individuals. Nobody within the committee or wider volunteers are media trained and we just need to keep doing our best. Turnout tonight shows it is worthwhile to put the work in and try to save our club and represent fans.
BC: Lot of learning curves already for ASA and acknowledgement there have been mistakes along the way. Committee learning all the time. Meetings every Tuesday, fans welcome to input and come along to these.
Brandon Coghill then went through some of the work done by the ASA in recent months
- Those on committee and other volunteers have continued to have weekly meetings to discuss ongoing club issues and what the ASA can do to hold club to account and represent the views of supporters.
- Meetings with the club board and Colin McGowan but since the last meeting with the club they have refused to engage with the ASA.
- Since the last meeting at the Greenfield the ASA have been in communication with various forms of the media. Much of this has been the media approaching the ASA for comment. In recent days media stories have been released about the club’s statement after the fans’ protest ahead of the opening league game of the season. After the club slated fans and stated the protest necessitated police intervention and heaped shame on the perpetrators the ASA made a Freedom of Information request to Police Scotland about their role in the day. The media have picked up on this and this FOI has quashed the allegations from the club.
- The ASA have put out several statements on club developments and issues. Again, an acknowledgment these are not always perfect and are a learning curve for all involved and again will sometimes divide opinion amongst fans.
- A survey sent out to the mailing list was well responded to and a further survey will be sent out soon.
- One area that has been criticised has been how long it has taken for the association to get set up. Due to the ASA being established previously there have been a number of challenges and barriers to overcome. Correspondence was getting sent to a previous member of the former ASA group but had been getting sent to a previous address meaning they did not receive communication. This delayed things significantly.
CH: The setting up of a bank account has been more difficult than first thought and has been a challenging process. There have been a number of hurdles. A fellow fan who works with HSBC has been of great assistance with this process with HSBC and managed to get things moving a bit quicker recently. A further delay was due to nationwide campaign by HSBC around new bank accounts which meant more applications than normal. Bank account is now open and able to take in money. Andrew Soutter has done a lot of admin around this and the legalities. However, on behalf of the ASA a genuine sorry for the delay in this getting open but hope fans are keen to still support and frustrations with this are shared.
BC: Things have not been plain sailing. When Bay Horse meeting took place things were really bad for the club. Last few months have had a focus on ensuring the safety of the club and trying to highlight the situation the club finds itself in.
Brandon Coghill then invited the local MSP, Davy Russell, to speak about what he has done since his recent election around the concerns raised by supporters and constituents
DR: Met 6-7 weeks ago with Jock Brown and had a cordial 2-hour meeting. Jock said the plan was to build a new stadium and the club wouldn’t work with Colin McGowan again. Jock was not willing to recognise ASA as a group. Jock was asked to put plans in writing around new stadium idea and strategy moving forward. To date, he hasn’t done this and is now not returning calls. Colin McGowan wants £3.4m for the stadium. Colin McGowan is willing to write off debt owed by club as part of this transaction. Meeting with Neil Doncaster from the SPFL on Monday (September 15) who met with ASA recently. Some of the negligence lies with the football association and they have been negligent with checks they should have done about current board. Reference was made to governance law in England that will be looked at further if Neil Doncaster doesn’t turn up to the planned meeting. A petition for football governance would fast track things rather than a Private Members Bill. Petitions committee has a bit more clout. Closing date for petitions for this year is soon due to vast numbers submitted. Petition could be signed by anyone and not restricted to Accies fans. If parliament buy into it then it could be fast tracked.
CH: ASA to take this forward
DR: In regard to the American takeover this is not hard fact. Some names have been mentioned but nothing confirmed yet.
BC: Thanks to all fans who have helped out so far, attended meetings and organised events.
Brandon Coghill passed to Andrew Soutter to discuss proposed 12-month plan for ASA.
AS: Beginnings of ASA were focused on finding out what was going on and getting opinions of fans. The board need to be held to account for their handling of the club. The committee have taken things as far as they can at present and responsibility now shifts to all supporters of the club. The more members of a supporters’ association, the more that supporters’ voices will be heard. Any new board cannot continue in the manner this present one. Working group is faceless, not transparent and not said anything of what their values are. Action plan proposed is based on a partnership with the supporters’ group and club. Partnership agreement helps both parties. In return the club would grant a share in club. This is known as a heritage share. Rights would be important. You don’t pay anything but have certain rights including a place for supporters’ association on the board. The current board have run amok and we can’t rely on SPFL/SFA to look after our club. The damage that the current board has done in past 18 months is significant. One of rights would be for association to veto things like ground move, name change, change of club colours. Important from a legacy perspective. Changing the articles of the football club to ensure this share remains in place through history. Benefit of future fans of the club.
Further details in draft plan provided to attendees and will be shared on ASA site
AS: Collecting of monies. Falkirk is a good example. Where the money goes gets decided by supporters. Example given to fans of Falkirk agreement and what that looks like. ASA put this to current board previously and they were not particularly interested and gave the impression that they did not really want fans involved. If no action now then it will only get harder.
BC: ASA committee feels it is very important to try and help reestablish the academy as this gave club so much success. Other clubs use funds for things like player wages. All fans will be disappointed with what happened with the academy, so this could be a focal point of what Accies is all about.
Ross Latimer invited to talk about fundraising efforts and supporter events the ASA would like to offer to fans
RL: A small group (including John Paterson, Carolann Guthrie, Brandon Coghill) took on the responsibility for organising the recent Supporters v Legends match. Got involved as concerned about future of the club but also for many years felt that the club did not do have enough to bring fans together and create opportunities for fans to get involved in club-related activities and events outside of match day. These events will be designed to try and engage fans, and consideration will be given for fans of all ages. Without going over details of the 12-month plan, a key point would be that any money raised from these would be spent/allocated based on the direction backed by members and not dictated by any one person. Ideas include player sponsorship, helping fans with travel costs, growth of the women’s team and loftier ideas of stadium and/or club ownership. One idea was also the creation of an Accies Family Fund. This would be where a small percentage of money raised through supporters’ events would be kept aside and used to send flowers, cards or other tokens of sympathy to acknowledge the passing of fellow fans. It would allow in a small way the collective support to show solidarity for one another in difficult times. The recent Supporters v Legends match raised just under £2500. While feedback was very positive, improvements could be made, but planning was challenging due to the almost daily issues unravelling with the football club. It was great to have so many people respond in a positive manner and the ex-players were delighted to help. The players involved have a real affection for the club and are willing to help out at future events. In an ideal world we would be like most other clubs in terms of supporters’ events, but plans may be dictated by circumstances of club. While not directly an ASA event, the association will be supporting the Race Night in November to raise funds for the Vaults Bus. John Paterson thanked on behalf of all fans for his continued running of the bus and ensuring a number of fans get to matches safely. Over the next few months, a calendar of events will be organised so events can be properly planned and promoted. Ideas include speakers events, golf days to get businesses on board, end of season quiz, awards dinners. Whilst a small group worked on recent match, any help would be welcomed and hopefully future events would allow different fans to engage. Any fan who wishes to help can contact ASA email address or speak to John Paterson, Carolann Guthrie, Brandon Coghill or Ross Latimer in person.
Microphone was passed to Ewan Summers for information around communication
ES: Focus moving forward on communication through mailing list and website. Recent newsletters have been welcomed. Fraser Hamilton has done a huge amount of work with the website. This will be the hub of information for fans and engaging with fans. This will have information on key aspects on how you can get involved with the ASA. Club’s website has been very poor for so long, so ASA can fill the gap the club miss with fanbase. Will work with Fraser about really driving the website forward in upcoming weeks.
Brandon Coghill opened up questions.
Fan questions in bold as well as some additional information
What plans do committee have to grow membership and bring together factions of support?
BC: Opportunity is there for all fans to get together. No point in hiding from the fact people have different opinions. Again, would offer a genuine invitation to other fans to get involved. Committee learning from mistakes and hopefully all fans can come together to find middle ground as everyone has club’s best interests at heart.
AS: It is a no brainier, we have to come together to protect the club. We haven’t galvanised previously and whilst the club is in such jeopardy we can’t succeed without being together.
ES: Acknowledged lack of unity amongst fans in recent months and this was evident on social media and forums. Encouraged use of email to contact ASA or to speak to people in person.
What efforts have there been to engage with the working group?
CH: Believes that the working group is faceless and it is simply not possible to engage as the identities of those who are in it are simply not known.
BC: Invitation to anyone in attendance who is part of working group to please make contact with ASA to try and engage in a dialogue.
Supporter with previous question stated at this point that they had felt they were abused online for asking questions which was their right as a supporter.
BC: Apologised on behalf of ASA if anyone was offended and in complete agreement that online abuse was not acceptable.
Supporter asked about an apology for a fellow fan not in attendance regarding an incident at game. Another attendee stated it was a police matter and could not be discussed.
Whilst happy to be a member, many concerns exist about whether new owners will come in. Jock Brown has gone to ground and with Seref apparently in Turkey, so has the ASA reached out to the board to find out what is going on as surely nobody will buy a club without a ground?
BC: Attempted to engage with current board and find out. Have a hunch of who new owner is. Communication in recent days with Supporters Liaison Officer, Alan Macintyre, about re-engaging in dialogue with the club.
At this point Brandon Coghill asked SLO Alan Macintyre (AM) if he wished to speak about his knowledge of potential new owners
AM: Currently speaking to Gerry and Jock. Seref back in Turkey. No communication about new owners.
AS: ASA asked SFA about approval of new owners. SFA approved move to Cumbernauld. ASA trying to put get SFA to ask questions about whether new ownership would would include a return to Hamilton.
BC: Association want to rally the support together whether investment takes place or not. Trying to work with SLO to get dialogue.
Question directed to Alan Macintyre – Who do the club do recognise as a supporters’ association if not the ASA?
AM: Will ask board.
Question directed to Davy Russell – Regarding, negligence from SPFL/SFA we were told there was a rule that move to Broadwood couldn’t happen without fans approval. Can Davy raise the question of why this was allowed to slide given the obvious anger amongst fans?
DR: SPFL have said they receive more enquiries about Hamilton Accies than any other club. Fans don’t get a say in Scotland the way they do in England and Wales.
ES: In the SPFL/SFA meeting they advised ASA that if fans views were all taken into account then membership of club could be in jeopardy and SPFL/SFA were put in a difficult situation
AS: SFA couldn’t support move based on fans views.
Why didn’t the ASA share this important information with fans?
LG: At the start of the meeting ASA were criticised by SFA/SPFL for a minor disclosure of information and information discussed at the meeting could not be shared in the form of minutes etc.
Is there a timescale to vote on elected members?
BC: Absolutely want to have elected committee. Things that happen will be driven by members and this includes electing a committee. Now association officially setup and bank account in place the next steps for this will be taken.
Question directed to Alan Macintyre – Are you part of the working group?
AM: Part of many groups and is there on night as a fan
Another fan thanked Alan Macintyre for his work so far in the role of SLO, acknowledging the challenging position
LG – Thanked SLO for coming along and looking into establishing dialogue again between ASA and club.
Should the supporters’ association be putting pressure on Colin McGowan as stadium belongs to Hamilton Accies despite what it may say on paper?
CH: Focus at moment on predicament club is in and having a club to support. The hope is one day we get back to Hamilton with one company owning both club and stadium.
BC: Members of association will decide where we put our time and effort. If members want that to be the focus then that’s what the association will focus on.
How much will it cost to get club back to Hamilton?
BC: As noted earlier £3.4m is the figure quoted.
AS: Colin McGowan managed to pay his taxes, lodge accounts. Current board haven’t lodged anything since they took over which is a clear indication of their failure whilst in charge.
Can the association reach out to Colin McGowan to put something in writing regarding the sale of stadium?
BC: Happy to do this.
Are any current stakeholders going to be involved in any potential takeover?
BC: We will ask the question.
Is the ASA willing to have dialogue with the board?
BC: Confirmed ASA reached out via SLO for dialogue with club.
AS: Why have dialogue with current board given the damage done to the club and claims made against fans?
BC: Confirmed existing committee is willing to engage with current board where possible.
CH: Reiterated that the question has been raised with SLO if ASA can have dialogue with current board.
The lease of the stadium now with a boys’ club. Could we setup our own ASA Academy?
CH: Spoke about desire to help but that sort of idea likely to be a more long-term aim if that was something members wanted
BC: Different skill sets amongst fans and encouraged people to reach out and help where possible. Thanked everyone for attending.
Meeting was brought to a close.
Please note a few comments and responses may have been missed from the Q&A session at the end due to comments being made in unison. Apologies for anything missed at this point.
