Dear fellow supporter,

Have you ever dreamed of a truly great Roma? A team which could compete with the major European clubs both on and off the pitch? Have you ever dreamed of seeing our flag flying at the very highest levels? Have you ever really dreamed of victory?

Our history shows that winning in Rome is extremely hard and that victory has come only when a lot of money has been spent to make our team competitive. But victory has come only in domestic competitions, since we have never won anything significant in Europe.

Our uniquely passionate supporters are forced to go through these emotions every decade, hoping that an oil magnate, a tycoon or a billionaire will come along, turning our team into his own personal plaything.

But will this guarantee our team a solid future?

How many times in our history has anyone really brought us to the top level? How many trophies have we won?

Competing in the Champions League in recent years has taught us a lot from an organizational and economic point of view as we have seen the strengths of other European clubs close up. The one and only resource which our team can boast at this level is its marvellous supporters who have kept the faith through the years with passion and dedication even when the club's achievements were disappointing. But Roma supporters have never had a part in the decision making processes or the chance to decide A.S. Roma’s future. In these years, Roma supporters have been called upon only to buy season tickets, pay-per-view TV subscriptions, magazines or replica shirts. Over the years Roma supporters have been increasingly considered as mere “customers” and not as the true life-blood of the club.

My philosophy has always been: “If you love something, do it yourself”. That’s why today I say: “If you love A.S. Roma, do it yourself”. The only possible solution for our future is a SUPPORTERS' TRUST, to give finally our supporters the role they deserve: “Roma for its supporters”.

Everything started on 6 August 2009 with a tentative effort to find support through a Facebook group. These web pages quickly became the centre of a worldwide network of websites, magazines, blogs, radio shows and clubs where thousands of supporters meet to understand how they can make this Giallorosso dream come true. In less than two months, more than 5000 supporters have signed up. That’s why we decided to create this site to provide information and a space for discussion, since we believe that “Education makes us free, knowledge makes us stronger”.

You might ask: what is a Supporters' Trust? What is collective shareholding?

The basic definition of a Supporters’ Trust is a democratic, not-for-profit organisation of supporters, committed to strengthening the voice for supporters in the decision making process at a club Collective shareholding could be defined as a promotion of shareholding directed to a large public of investors.

It is a way for companies to grow their value and reduce their debts, and for investors to find ways to protect their savings from inflation; Collective Shareholding means a widespread distribution of shares which will be owned by the largest possible number of investor rather than a limited number of associates

By involving a great number of individuals in this enterprise, Collective Ownership could also, according its supporters, promote social stability, redress financial disparities and introduce more democratic decision-making processes. This way the future of a company will be decided by a large number of shareholders, participating in shareholder meetings. In a way, A.S. Roma shares will become property of every single supporter who owns even one single share, who will have all the rights and duties that legally pertaining to every shareholder.*


Walter Campanile
www.dajeroma.com


*(based on the MODENA Calcio Supporters' Trust site).