Tom Rubashow reports
Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s new website is set to launch as part of the club’s strategic plan to communicate to a broader base of football fans, the wider community and our current supporters.
The new website is part of a joined-up approach that sees the club, Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), and Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Young Greenwich Youth Services working together to reach new audiences and provide improved content for supporters and other community users.
As part of the project, each of the three organisations are having their own digital platforms designed to work within one website. The development is being constructed by club and CACT partner ITRM. The CACT and the Young Greenwich platforms are set to go live shortly and the new www.cafc.co.uk is set to launch on July 1st, when the club’s current agreement with Football League Interactive finishes.
The new website represents a considerable investment by the club. The club recognises the need to reach and engage with a new, young fanbase to help create Charlton fans of the future.
This will be reflected in terms of content and style. It will also provide an important tool to help the club’s communication with its fans.
The new website will include new content for supporters. The club and ITRM hosted several workshops last summer with fan groups to identify what should be incorporated into the design. One of the requests was a more comprehensive Club History section and this will be something included in the new website to celebrate the 25th anniversaries of Charlton’s return to The Valley and of the Charlton Athletic Community Trust.
Charlton Athletic Community Trust CEO Jason Morgan said: “We’re delighted with our new website. What is most pleasing is the joined up thinking we have in place and that we’re working together on a shared vision. To be working together on important projects, such as our website, the Sparrows Lane training ground redevelopment and next year’s kit deal, just demonstrates the benefit of the Charlton family.”
Charlton Athletic CEO Katrien Meire said: “The new website gives us the chance to provide new, relevant content for our fans. In addition, working with the supporters and creating an engaging, interactive website gives us a great opportunity to reach a wider audience through our collaboration with the Charlton Athletic Community Trust and by extension Young Greenwich.”
ITRM Managing Director David White said: “As the official IT partner and proud sponsors of Charlton and CACT, we were delighted to have been selected to design, build and implement the new, interactive official website for the club, Trust and Youth Services Greenwich Project.
"Having worked closely with key stakeholders and members across all organisations as well as engaging with fans in a series of workshops, we are confident that the new digital platform will greatly improve the experience for fans and provide essential support to Trust users.
“At ITRM we have a deep passion to innovate and provide the highest level of service in all that we do. This project has been an exciting one for us because we are whole-heartedly committed to the Charlton family.”