I’m Stockport County Club President- there’s a real feel around the town that it is a place on the up
“As a town and as a football team, Stockport is an excellent place to be right now.”
According to Stockport County President Steve Bellis, “I firmly believe that, with the current ownership and those who work at the club, our best years are ahead of us.” Bellis is extremely optimistic about the football team’s situation. County won the Sky Bet League Two championship at the end of the 2023–2024 season, their first football league trophy in nearly 60 years.
Steve began his journey with Stockport County as a supporter in the 1980s and has since progressed through the ranks to hold a variety of official positions within the team. In the 1989–1990 campaign, he took on the role of marketing manager and never looked back.
Steve spoke with ManchesterWorld in-depth about his position at Stockport County and the reasons the team is growing at the same rate as the town and community it serves. Steve began playing for Stockport in the late 1980s, and throughout his time there, he shown his devotion for the football team.
“I was a club supporter in the 1980s and ended up serving on a number of committees. I have a tendency to become really involved in things, so when the club needed volunteers and support badly, I wound up on the executive committee and supporters committee. That is the origin of it all.
Following the Hillsborough Disaster, all clubs were required to implement a membership programme. After I returned from managing a hotel in Turkey, the then-chairman, who was acquainted with me from committee work, asked if I might help. By the end of the 1980s, I had become the club’s first marketing manager.
“We essentially took a seat and realised that the club required a complete makeover. We used to play on Friday nights back then. This was a result of Manchester United and City casting a shadow over us. We had respectable attendance, which was good, but many of them weren’t our fans. Friday nights were usually lads’ and lases’ nights out, so we would have a lot of City and United supporters and not enough Stockport followers with their kids. They would attend the game and then head to a nightclub to cap off the evening.
“We were losing out. When I started doing study at the beginning of the 1990s, less than 7% of the people who were paying were kids. The audience we had was literally dying. I’m glad to say that we came up with a plan to visit all of Stockport’s elementary schools and conduct a one-hour healthy living session. During the programme, the players performed a skit and educated the children on the value of leading a healthy lifestyle. The schools cherished it since it reinforced important life skills, and in an effort to increase our support, one child, their siblings, and an adult from their family were invited to our next game at the conclusion of each presentation.
“In 1996, our paying audience was the youngest in professional football, with over 40% of the audience being made up of children.”
When the club’s ownership changed in 2004, Steve decided to leave. But ten years later, he responded to an SOS call.
“The club was in serious trouble in 2013.” It was a complete wreck, having recently been demoted to National League North. I received a call asking if I could help. They said they couldn’t pay me, but if I could return as an unpaid director to attempt to salvage the club, that would be great. Fortunately, my squad managed to turn things around when we got in.
“We convinced the council to purchase the stadium, thereby securing our place of spiritual residence. After establishing sustainability and stability for the football team, we met Mark Stott, who eventually became our owner, and felt like we had won the lotto. After the new owner took over, I moved from marketing manager to commercial manager, unpaid director, and club president.
Steve has a hands-on role in the club and represents Stockport County FC in numerous ways.
“My first responsibility is to safeguard the club’s identity and ensure that we never stray from the club that we always were.
“At events, I serve as the club’s liaison with the supporters from various departments. This includes the women’s team that I founded in the early nineties. At games, I represent the club as well. Certain gatherings call for a tie and shirt, but Mark isn’t one for that.
“I MC events, host fan forums, and do corporate hosting on matchdays. If I’m not too hard on myself, I can be a little bit of the mouth and the face of things. Being able to do what I do is a pleasure and an honour; it’s not like a job, even if it’s a lovely role.
Since I firmly think that trophies shouldn’t be kept in cabinets, I took the National League North trophy on a community tour when we first won it. With that, we made 88 pub visits. Since the EFL trophy is our first football league trophy in 57 years, there is a tremendous desire for it. We completed 33 pubs last weekend, and this weekend we will complete another 20. We’ll visit more than 100 bars.
“It’s amazing how much joy that piece of cutlery brings to the community.” Many people were surprised to see us back in the league, and even the older supporters cry when they see the trophy. Every smile makes it worthwhile, even though some people question if I get tired of it. Because you never know when your next big break will come, seize the opportunity.
The two travels to China, according to Steve, were the high points of his tenure at the club. They were well-representative of Stockport and drew sizable crowds.
One of the club’s highlights was entering China. We had two tours, and in 2004 we had a larger attendance at our match from the second tour than both Manchester United and Barcelona had on their subsequent tours. We were among the first teams to donate money after every trip, using it to help Chinese football players from disadvantaged backgrounds.
For Stockport, these have been a wild few years on the pitch. After losing in the playoffs at Wembley, the team received two promotions in three years, and Steve is annoyed by the national stadium.
“I kind of swear by the phrase whembley. During my stay here in the 1990s, we made four trips there in three years, and each time we were unable to win. We did win once, in 2008, but I missed it because I was in China at the time. Then we lose again when we return to Wembley and I can leave. It’s not been a very good place to hunt.
Stockport is becoming a sought-after town due to developments surrounding it, and the borough is becoming well-known across the country. Steve continued by saying that this and the football team’s success go hand in hand.
“Every town with a football league team will have social media mentions.” You get these mentions, which makes it a special thing. It has become apparent that our community is among the greatest locations to live. Stockport has a distinct vibe of being a city on the rise. In addition to the stadium development, there is the new interchange in the old town and Bask, which has developed into a true base for County supporters, as you exit the train station.
“As a town and as a football team, Stockport is an excellent place to be right now. Together, they are only going to continue to develop and improve.
It’s nice that I get to host the parade days. These things take on a life of their own; the streets were crowded with at least 10,000 people enjoying a funfair vibe. People laughed and cried.The communication between fans and players is excellent. These athletes have a proper connection; they don’t disembark from the team van while wearing headphones. I have a responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t change because this relationship must endure.
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