Close on 300 Town fans attended the launch of the Blues Foundation at Portman Road recently, a new initiative designed to raise funds for the Club's Academy.  Town Chairman David Sheepshanks and manager Jim Magilton addressed the supporters, explaining the importance of the Academy to the Club's future.  Over 1600 supporters wanted to attend the evening but limited space meant that only 300 could be at Portman Road and of those around 80% joined The Blues Foundation on the spot.

One fan who signed up to the new initiative also walked away with the top prize on the evening -a framed signed Black E.ON shirt. Tony Robinson of Colchester is pictured here with his prize with Manager Jim Magilton.

What is the Blues Foundation?
The Blues Foundation is a brand new and exclusive lottery-based club which will be limited to just 2,500 members.
All profits raised will go towards the Ipswich Town Academy. Membership costs £2.25 per week (less than £10.00 per month). Members will get automatic entry into The Big Blue Game and through this, weekly cash prizes will be available (a guaranteed £100 prize each day and £1000 prize each month as well as loads of other cash prizes).
Blues Foundation members will also be entered into draws to win or be invited to attend 'money can't buy' football prizes including:

• Exclusive Q&A sessions with the Manager / Chairman
• Ultimate match experiences
• Be a match photographer for a day
• Exclusive 'Evening With ...' events
• A training session for a school team at the Academy
• Pairs of seats at the Blues Foundation galleria table

Members of The Blues Foundation will also have the exclusive chance of winning an annual £10,000 tax-free cash jackpot prize, with the first draw for this held in November 2007.

In addition, members will receive other benefits including a complimentary Blues Crew membership to pass on to a five-11-year-old and invitations to attend exclusive events like Q&A sessions with the manager or 'Evening's With' events with ex-players.
Members can also recommend a friend by getting a form from one of the lottery team. For each friend who signs up to The Blues Foundation, the member will receive a one-off cash payment of £9.75. So if they recommend 12 friends, they'll receive their annual subscription free of charge (NB - terms and conditions apply).

Town's Academy is considered to be one of the best in football but it costs the Club over £1.1 million per year to run. In order to maintain and improve the facilities and services currently on offer the Club need to find innovative ways of raising funds. Not only does The Blues Foundation meet this requirement, it also gives members some fantastic benefits.

If you'd like to join the hundreds of people who joined The Blues Foundation last night, then look out for the application forms available in the Planet Blue stores. You can pay by cash, cheque, credit/debit card or by standing order.

To download and print off the application form, click on Blues Foundation Application Form

To find out more about The Blues Foundation, email thebluesfoundation@itfc.co.uk or call the enquiry line on (01473) 400542.