Unique Season Ticket Loan from Spirit of Shankly

Spirit Of Shankly was begun when about 350 Liverpool supporters crammed into The Sandon pub in January 2008 and felt that action had to be taken about the dreadful custodianship of Liverpool Football Club by messrs Hicks and Gillett. However, this 350 wanted more than that – they were of the opinion that the football club, indeed the entire national game, was being run in a way detrimental to the supporter and they wanted an organisation which could represent their interests. Initially called the Sons Of Shankly, the idea began.

Since then the renamed Spirit Of Shankly has called a number of mass meetings and launched this website where aims have been agreed, taken on committees of volunteers and established a constitution in order to work towards those aims and now is launching this website to make membership easier to get and communication with members and non-members far easier. Over that period it has also kept up vehement and public opposition to the football club's owners, underlining their broken commitments to the public time and again.

This unique organisation had its inaugural AGM on 22nd February 2009, elected its first Committee, and continues to want Liverpool supporters the world over to be part of it. Football is a global game and Liverpool FC is a club with strong roots in its community. Football and Liverpool FC make the global local and the local global – if we stand together and speak with one voice, regardless of language and accent, we can make a genuine difference to our football club, to the city it's based and to the wider footballing world beyond.

In 2010 the reign of Hicks & Gillett was brought to an an end when Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool Football Club.

Since then Spirit of Shankly has continued to work towards our stated aims of representing the best interests of our members and the wider community of Liverpool supporters and to be a "critical friend" to the club to ensure that the club does not move to far away from the core ethos that was created by the great man himself; Bill Shankly.

To this end, Spirit of Shankly has been working on a number of key initiatives.

Spirit Of Shankly have been working with Partners Credit Union to establish a Spirit Of Shankly Division, that allows members and supporters to come together to save towards a stake in Liverpool Football Club through our supporter ownership scheme. Whilst the ownership situation has changed, supporters still face issues around ticketing costs and with this in mind, we have been working to find ways to help supporters.

We are pleased to announce that from today, the Spirit Of Shankly working with Partners Credit Union, are able to offer a Season Ticket Loan to help those supporters who face paying a high cost for their season ticket at an already expensive time of year. The Season Ticket Loan, which runs for 12 months, allows supporters to pay for their season ticket over a longer period rather than in one lump sum, with a much lower rate of interest than a credit card. The loan can be for individuals or family members up to a total of £2,000.

The loans are currently available to those who live or work in the Greater Merseyside area. This is due to existing Credit Union legislation. If you are unsure if you are eligible for the loan but would like to find out more then please complete the Membership Application form and Partners will be able to give you further details or contact you when the legislation changes.

The only other pre-requisite to access the loans is to complete the Membership Form agreeing to save a minimum amount of £2 per week for 10 weeks. After this time, you will be eligible to access a loan to cover the cost of your season ticket cost - which is paid direct to the Club or re-imbursed to your Credit or Debit card. What's more the £2 you save each week remains yours, to use for future season tickets, European trips or your supporter ownership stake. Saving this money also opens up other Credit Union benefits.

Further information on the Credit Union and accessing the Season Ticket Loan, including downloading the Membership Application Form go to www.spirit ofshankly.com

Paul Manning

Paul Manning is on the management committee of Spirit of Shankly with responsibility for marketing.