Hi my name is Mike Briscoe, I'm new to the trust board and was voted on at the last election.
I am 26 and a lifetime Portsmouth fan, I have had a season ticket in the north stand for around 13 years. I have been very lucky over my time watching the blues in the highest league and have seen some incredible games. I have also seen our great club fall down the leagues due to terrible owners. Over the last couple of years I have raised over £15,000 for the club and different charities. This has involved around 1,000 people turning up to different football style events I have put on. I am very passionate about getting people out of their houses to enjoy themselves, and putting a smile on their face!
As we have dropped down the leagues and the technology years have taken over, I now feel extremely passionate to try and get kids out of their houses, off thier games consoles/tv's & to watch live games, to take in the amazing atmosphere and able to socialise with their family/friends. Football is not a tv show.!! The last few year has disappointed me. I have noticed more premier league tops around the city, being especially worn by kids. This didn't happen as much a few years ago when we were in a higher league. The club has really done great to promote to youngers by giving out tickets to local kids clubs. This has seemed to work very well this season, we have seen a massive increase in season ticket holders.
This can only be improved over the coming seasons especially with a future stadium on the cards. I would love to see family season tickets introduced in the future, although it's not possible at the moment, this has proven to have worked at other clubs. Cardiffs first season after it was introduced, just 460 took up the offer, 4 years on and that number has increased to over 8,000. This shows a great way to make football more afforable for everyone.
You can contact me at mike.briscoe@pompeytrust.com