WELCOME TO FOUNDATION OF HEARTS DAY
Welcome to this year’s Foundation Day, a day to celebrate being the largest fan-owned club in the UK.
As ever, this day has two specific purposes: first to say a huge thank you to those supporters who have contributed to the Foundation – and therefore to the club; and secondly, to reinforce the message that signing up to the Foundation makes a huge difference to what Heart of Midlothian, our club, can achieve both on and off the pitch.
We recently brought this message together under a campaign with the headline, Sign for Hearts. We’ve been going out to non-FoH members, to members who for different reasons are no longer pledging, and to those fans who don’t live near Gorgie and can’t make it to many match days.
What we are saying to them is very simple.
We all know that, in today’s football world, money talks, so the more funds we put into the club, the more we can attract and retain top players. With that, we can enjoy the European trips, Cup runs, and success in the league.
Off the pitch, we can support the Academy and its development of our young players. We can continue to see our stadium enhanced so that it generates additional funds for our club and is home to the evocative Museum and Memorial Garden. We can drive forward community-led initiatives such as the Innovation Centre and the Maroon Mile. And we can take pride in the work of our charity, Big Hearts.
Pledging what you can afford gives us the edge over our rivals. You can make the difference for Hearts.
This year, as you know, we celebrate Hearts’ 150th anniversary. Without the supporters, this milestone would not have been reached. Our club would not exist. So today, we celebrate the past but more importantly we look ahead and put plans in place to help to ensure long-term success for Hearts.
It’s not every football fan that can say they own their club. But thanks to the amazing supporters of our club, every Heart of Midlothian fan can, if they choose, do just that. And with your help, this is what the Foundation of Hearts is aiming to achieve.
So my request to you is this. Be an owner. Make the difference. Sign for Hearts.
Thank you and enjoy the day.
Gerry Mallon
Chair, Foundation of Hearts
