Dear Supporters

Greetings and on behalf of the club I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and look forward to your continued highly valued support.

2019 promises to be a very special one for the club as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

It was on 24 February, 1994, that the new Board of ICT FC held its first meeting in Balnain House, Huntly Street, Inverness, bringing together representatives of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, under the guidance of Inverness and Nairn Enterprise. Our first competitive game was played on 9 August, 1994.

We have set up an ICT25 Committee, under the chairmanship of Director, Liam Dalgarno, to come up with ideas to mark this significant milestone.

The views of supporters young and old are very important and we want to hear your ideas for the celebration.

A 25th anniversary ball is the first main event proposed – for Saturday 2 March in the Kingsmills Hotel.

Other Key projects 

1         We would like to organise a keynote match and we are working with the Manager to identify top opposition

2               We want to refurbish the Sports Bar and create a more welcoming meeting place for supporters. This is the ideal location to better display the club’s memorabilia in the form of photos, strips, programmes and trophies.

3               A book “Milestones and Memories” is being written by Club Historian, Ian Broadfoot, ready for publication in the summer 

4               We want to stage an ICT25 Community Festival to celebrate our huge commitment to our local community.

5               We are creating new merchandise including, a special commemorative strip:

6               We are working with The Highland Council on a number of ideas, including the feasibility of establishing a city centre presence to promote ICT25

7         We plan to work with supporters to organise a Hall of Fame event: 

With guidance from our 25th anniversary Ambassador, Charlie Christie, the ICT25 Committee have identified 6 key dates in the club’s history and the plan is to remember these milestones at specific commemorative events. 

The dates are:-

13 August 1994:  First Scottish League game v Arbroath at Telford Street Park ends in 5-2 victory, with the late Alan Hercher scoring a hat-trick.

12 April 1997: Third Division title secured with 4-1 home win against Albion Rovers.

8 February 2000: Unforgettable 3-1 Scottish Cup win at Parkhead over Celtic

15 May 2004: Promotion to Premier League guaranteed after 3-1 win at home over St Johnstone.

30 May 2015:  Scottish Cup lifted following 2-1 win over Falkirk at Hampden.

16 July 2015: ICT play in Europe for the first time against Astra Giurgui of Romania.  First leg at home ended in a 1-0 for the visitors.

If you have any other special dates, please let us know of your favourite memories.

The other main initiative at the club is the creation of an ICT Foundation to build on our involvement with the local community, partnering organisations that support young and old and those who most need our involvement. It was great to see so many of those we are working with in our schools and wider community at our Christmas Friends party at the stadium.

Another reason for optimism is the number of highly promising players emerging from our Youth Academy. Producing our own talent must be the way forward for the club. 

We have a first team that is capable of gaining promotion to the Premiership and we wish John, his management team and players the very best of luck in the coming year.

Your Board is committed to working really hard to help achieve all our goals.

With your support in 2019, we can make this a truly memorable year.

Graham Rae

Chairman

ICT FC