We Are Ports was founded by a group of Portadown Football Club supporters in 2017, as a not-for-profit organisation. The group decided there was a need to form a democratic membership scheme which was open to everyone, irrespective of ethnic identity, age, gender, nationality, geographical location, sexuality or religion.
Over a number of years supporters felt there had been a growing disconnect between the club, its supporters and the local community. The founding members of We Are Ports wanted to see the community feeling more connected by being brought into the inner workings of their club and having a greater say in its future direction on and off the pitch.
There are currently over 100 adult members in We Are Ports, with members based around the world; such as America, Canada, Australia and throughout the U.K. Each member of WAP pays a minimum monthly contribution and in return they have an elected representative on the Portadown Football Club Board of Directors. Our representative provides vital two way communication between our members and the clubs Board of Directors.
Members decide how their money is spent, and provide additional finance to all aspects of the club and the Portadown community. In addition to financial support, We Are Ports also host regular members and community social events, aimed at bringing supporters and the community together using the power of football and the Portadown Football Club name.
Since being established in 2017, We Are Ports had the long term goal of becoming a registered charity. Members believed this would allow We Are Ports to develop further into a community focused organisation. One of the first jobs for the founding Committee was to start the process of applying to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
So it is with great pride that we can announce today that We Are Ports has completed that process and we have become a registered charity with the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland.
To date members have raised over £80,000 which has gone directly towards supporting the Portadown FC mens, women's and youth teams, as well as many community initiatives.
Our aim has always been to see Portadown FC grow on and off the pitch, by placing local people at the heart of our objectives. Now that we have gained charity status we aim to continue working hard towards our objectives. Finally, we would like to thank all our members for their continued support and we look forward to the next chapter in the We Are Ports story.
We Are Ports Committee
Registered Charity No. NIC108579
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