So BRN UK has just launched and i hear you ask 'What sets it apart from all the other AC Milan sites out there ?'. There are plenty of sites dedicated to our great club in nearly any language you can think of, some deal with just news, others deal with rumours and some are just truly fantastic forums (ED: Shameless plug here, but www.milanmania.com has a wonderful set of forums).
Originally initiated by our Editor and President Walid Belkhear, BRN UK started life as an idea and quickly gathered support from UK fans who wanted a site that was a little more personal to the UK scene. A core team emerged as the people behind the site and from there on in the wheels were in motion. As mentioned elsewhere, BRN UK was set to go it alone as the 'Official UK AC Milan Web Site'. However, gaining the links needed to the club were near impossible for us as a small band of newcomers. What was needed was a group already well established with AC Milan, a formation that had incredibly close ties with the club, step forward the Brigate Rossoneri.
For those who aren't too sure who they are, when you watch an AC Milan match on tv and you see the Curva Sud full of banners, flags, posters, flares, people with microphones and P.A. systems, somewhere in there is the Brigate Rossoneri. There are several groups in the Curva Sud, but one of the biggest (if not the biggest) is the Brigate Rossoneri. Alot of the amazing coreography you see before matches is organised by them, they are steeped in history and have an incredibly close bond to the club. The Brigate Rossoneri president met with our Editor and a deal was fashioned, it was agreed that we would become the 'Official UK division of the Brigate Rossoneri'. Now this is a fantastic opportunity as we now have immediate and easier access to season tickets, Coppa Italia tickets and Champion's League tickets. For those of you who can read Italian, check out www.brigaterossonere.net for more details about the Brigate Rossoneri.
As BRN UK is in its infancy, alot of the features we hope to have won't be available for a period of time. The core aims though are to give members the opportunity to go to Milan matches once or twice a season for just the price of a membership fee. For someone who is interested in joining BRN UK, a small membership fee of £15 is paid. Once the appropriate total is reached a discount season ticket will be bought through the main division of the Brigate Rossoneri (ED: See how those links are working for us already ?). Members will be split up into small groups of around 10 or so and will each take it in turns to use the season ticket to see AC Milan's home matches. So depending on final group sizes (which unfortunately can't be an exact science, we just don't know how many members we'll get), you could get to see 2 matches at the San Siro for just £15 ! Doesn't that sound like a great deal ?
I hear reservations though and i'm sure some of you have your doubts, this is a natural conclusion. However, to allay those fears, this is how things will work. Lets say for arguments sake that we had 54 members and we had 6 season tickets. The 54 members would be split up into 6 groups of 9, for each home game one of the nine from each group will get to go the match. Now it'll be done in turns so everyone gets to go at least twice in the year (as there are 19 home games in a season) and if you can't go for one reason or another, the opportunity to go will be passed on to the next member in these mini groups. Once this 6 is selected, it's off to the airport (final arrangements for times and a meeting place will be made beforehand) where you'll meet up with the other BRN UK members and where our very own President Walid Belkhear will give you your tickets. Then it's off to Milan to enjoy the match. Again, this can't be an exact science until we know how many members and season tickets we can get hold of, so on this basis you'll have to be a bit patient with us. But it'll be worth it for sure !
Finally, i'd like to comment briefly on the aims of BRN UK for the future. Once we're up and running, it is our aim to make this site a meeting place for all UK AC Milan fans, where we can meet up and organise trips together to Milan to watch our team play or to set up meetings at a local bar somewhere. Online forums will eventually appear to make this easier and of course all AC Milan fans from around the world are welcome. So with that it's just left for me to say FORZA MILAN, FORZA BRIGATE ROSSONERI and FORZA BRN UK !
Posted by: Jimmy @ 19:40pm 01/01/08 | Jimmy's current mood: Optimistic