CUSG meeting at 7pm on Monday 29 June 2026
Attendees: John Kukuc (Chair), Simon Clarkson (SLO), Claire Winder (Supporters’ Trust & minutes), Claire Burgess (CUSAT & away SLO), John Bowman (London Branch), Keith Ward (Scottish Group), Derek Paterson (Heritage Group), Suzanne Kidd (Club), Andrew George (South Cumbria Supporters’ Group) joined partway through.
Apologies: Dave Gale (Disabled fans’ rep), Sonny Kirkwood (WRE/S4), Teresa Mulholland (EDI, CUFC), Tom Little (Club)
1. Club Updates
To read the club update, click HERE!
Players return this week, so there will be more media and content posted.
Kits: The away kit is due to arrive in the country this week, so news will follow regarding release. There will be women’s fits and sizes available. Fans will be involved in marketing again this season, and the players' shoot will be done first.
CEO: The appointment is currently going through the Independent Football Regulator process. This is a new process since Friday 1 May 2026 and is an update to the fit and proper person test.
Recruitment: Marc Tierney is reviewing the football department’s roles. There will be a replacement for player recruitment following Martin Foyle’s departure. Rob Elliot has brought in the backroom staff he needs.
National League AGM: The Club had communicated to NL that they were unable to attend as there was no one available from senior leadership. NL rules specify that it needs to be a club/company director, as there is voting that takes place. There was a financial cost to not being represented, but this was minimal. The Club did submit votes by ballot paper beforehand.
Sheepmount: The Club are satisfied with the location, current use and progress; it will be extended in time. Priority at present is getting out of the National League.
2. Fan Engagement - New Initiatives
No update from the media department; there have been staffing cover issues recently.
Question about when the briefing will begin - hopefully soon now that players have returned.
3. Constitution Review
View the reviewed Constitution HERE!
Document reviewed and updated during the meeting.
General discussion about advertising that fans who are not affiliated with any group are able to attend CUSG meetings. SC to liaise with Tom Little about advertising this, particularly when there are specific themes for meetings. Each group is to advertise to their members for attendees, as each group can have two representatives.
Posts for 2026/2027:
- Chair - JK to continue with support from CW.
- Treasurer - Michell Hall to continue
- Supporters Liaison Officer - SC to continue
4. Equality, Diversity and Disabled
To read the EDI update, click HERE!
Update from Dave Gale:
- Dave is scheduled to go around Brunton Park with Jordan, the facilities manager, in early July. This is to check all areas of the stadium and provide feedback on how to improve certain areas for disabled supporters. Dave will provide feedback at the next meeting.
- Additional questions not covered elsewhere - new car parking information - blue badge will be in one space by the former away entry, then premium parking spaces will be sold on the west side.
KW - positive feedback was discussed regarding the men’s mental health football tournament; some of the stories shared were inspirational and emotional. KW expressed thanks and gratitude to Rob Elliot for visiting the United In Memories meeting recently.
5. Calendar of events and projects
Community Fun Day on Saturday 18 July from 10am with an open training session. Local businesses and community groups are supporting the event - there will be something for everyone!
The calendar of events will be confirmed when the fixtures are released.
6. Finance
- Balance in bank: £1,803.74
- Ringfenced Funds: £568.43
- Disabled Account: £280.92
- Heritage Group Funds: £287.51
7. SLO update
Simon Clarkson is willing to continue as SLO next season, as is Claire Burgess in the capacity of away SLO. We have reflected on last season and taken on board feedback from fans.
The SLO team of meeters and greeters at Brunton Park will once again look to provide a key supporting role to enhance the matchday experience for fans, including our visiting community groups in A stand. The popular Cumberland Building Society-sponsored activity sees the team of volunteers provide a mini ground tour and answer questions from young visitors.
We are always on the lookout for more meeters and greeters, so please get in touch if you would like to join the team. As a thank you for helping, you will receive a complimentary match ticket.
Away from home, CB provides tremendous support on matchdays to our fans, ranging from excellent quality pre-match information, to stadium visibility, liaison with our hosts and being the family liaison for the away mascot scheme. New teams this year to link in with. CB is adding information this season to “Blogger”; she is enjoying the role and research - JK shared his gratitude to CB. London Branch to link in with CB regarding their knowledge and to share information with their members. SC, it would be useful if we could link in with clubs where there were issues to see if they can be avoided or forewarn fans that there may be issues.
SC is streamlining fan guides for the club website with Tom Little.
8. Group updates:
Heritage Group:
The Carlisle United Heritage Group (CUHG) continue to forge a great working partnership with the University of Cumbria (UoC), where the archive is based and Tullie, from whom we benefited from a donation of display cabinets. We maintain display cabinets outside the ticket office and at the Brampton Road UoC campus. We look to rotate these displays regularly as we have so much material to showcase. Recent displays include the commemoration of former player Bob Harrison and the Hopper family to help promote the charity game held at Frenchfields on Sunday 31 May.
Display cabinets are now being rolled out in community settings, with the pilot example scheduled for the old town hall in the city centre. We aspire to install some of these display cabinets at Brunton Park.
In a national setting, we are establishing great contacts around the country, supporting other club heritage groups on a similar journey and learning from others who are further advanced. We had a recent visit from a historian at Workington FC.
We are developing a website and now have almost 900 followers of our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/carlisleunitedheritage/albums/122093806677141543/
CRFM did a feature this week on the Heritage Group, discussing how the group was formed and examples of activities undertaken. Likely to be aired Tuesday 30 June.
We receive many requests for information from the public, and this aspect is a real joy as we regularly provide photos that family members have not seen before. To help promote our work, we had a presence at the Armed Forces Day and will be at the Community Day at Brunton Park on Saturday 18 June.
Archiving by sorting and cataloguing is now well underway, both at Brunton Park and at the archive. We are extremely grateful for the support from fans with this, notably Geoff Jackson with programmes, James Stringer with shirts and John Bowman with fanzines.
We are grateful to have received a huge amount of donations, but items can still be donated for the archive. If you would like to donate any items, need any information held or can help with any aspect of this project, please contact archives@carlisleunited.co.uk .
The group is asked regularly why memorabilia is not on display at Brunton Park; the group will speak to the new CEO when in post.
Scottish Supporters:
No new group news, questions answered elsewhere.
Are there updates regarding the Neil Centre?
SK - Through the day, it is now solely for academy use following a safeguarding review. CST will continue to access it when not being used for the academy, and it will continue to be available for members of the public at weekends.
Supporters’ Trust:
Our latest newsletter - https://sway.cloud.microsoft/4N4ZqFYXIvezKL0B?ref=Link
We're pleased to give all supporters the chance to become Carlisle United’s Honorary Squad Member for the 2026/27 season - https://www.cust.org.uk/honorary-squad-member/
Away travel information will be confirmed once fixtures are released. No current plans for the Trust to work with the away travel group. SC thinks clarity is needed for club communication for fans travelling.
London Branch:
Issue 342 of Hit The Bar! fanzine was published in print and online at the start of June, and was able to mark the arrival of Rob Elliot. We continue to keep members up to date throughout the close season with our weekly Virtual Hit the Bar.
We were pleased to respond to a request from the Heritage Group and met the £300 cost of 50 USB sticks, branded with the Heritage Group logo. These will be used over the coming months to present ex-players and their families with images and articles about the player drawn from the Group archives.
The recent spell of very hot weather and the associated ‘don’t travel’ advice meant that we had to cancel our visit to the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 25 June and therefore postpone our AGM. New date of Thursday 23 July agreed for a virtual AGM, and with Carlisle MP Julie Minns and her researcher Maisie, we hope to arrange a tour of the Palace of Westminster in the autumn as a social event for members.
Membership renewal notices will be sent to all members in early July, with membership fees once again frozen at £20 for full members, £10 for students and £3 for those 17 and under.
Once the 2026/27 fixtures are published in early July, our committee will convene a planning meeting to start work on providing advice to members on venues and travel to away matches.
Carlisle United South Cumbria Supporters Club:
Carlisle United South Cumbria Supporters Club can confirm that Philip Walker stood down as Chairperson and resigned from the committee on Wednesday 6 May, with immediate effect.
Going forward, the regular meeting point for CUSCSC will be The Factory Tap Free House in Kendal. Larger events are likely to be held at IBIS Football Club, where additional space may be required.
The CUSCSC Annual General Meeting will take place at The Factory Tap on Wednesday 29 July, starting at 6pm. Members are encouraged to attend and support the continued development of the branch.
CUSCSC has also made initial contact with the Carlisle United Supporters’ Trust, through Dan MacLennan, regarding the possibility of South Cumbria fans being able to board supporters’ coaches at Junction 36 of the M6 during the 2026/27 season when CUSCSC is not running a coach itself. This would help give supporters in South Cumbria more opportunities to travel to away games. Further details will be shared once confirmed.
CUSCSC will also sponsor a Carlisle United player again for the 2026/27 Season, having previously sponsored Mark Hughes during his time at the club.
Finally, membership sales and renewals will open on Friday 10 July. More information will be shared shortly on how supporters can join or renew their membership.
Warwick Road End/ Section 4 Supporters:
Plans are underway for Section 4, as most of our group have bought season tickets in Section 4 (where the singing section was for Brackley and in the playoffs against Borehamwood.
We are putting together a tighter group to help put forward initial ideas, and we will be sharing ideas and asking what people want to see via social media.
Our social media pages will be getting rebranded very soon. New name, logo, etc.
Hopefully we will have different types of merch on sale once the season starts - this will help us give something back, so we don’t solely rely on donations.
Any questions from fans, feel free to contact the page directly on any of our social media platforms.
9. AOB
- Next meeting Monday 10 August - SK to minute.
- CW requests to review the distribution list for the CUSG email address - updated during the meeting.
