JUST under a thousand York City Supporters Trust members will vote on whether the body should hand over its 25 per cent stake in the club to chairman Jason McGill.

The cut-off point to enrol as a Trust member in time to be eligible for the special general meeting ballot on Thursday, March 22 passed this week.

Membership numbers, as a result of the shares issue, have now increased by 36 per cent since the end of January, rising from 666 to 910.

The latter will now decide whether to sanction a golden share proposal that would increase McGill’s Minstermen shareholding from 75 per cent to 100 per cent, with the SGM taking place at Millthorpe School in Nunthorpe Avenue.

Ahead of the meeting, meanwhile, the Trust have agreed to participate in an online “question-and-answer exchange,” which is open to all City supporters and not just its membership.

Anybody wanting a query addressed, can forward their question to the Trust board by tomorrow and answers will be published on the supporters’ body’s website on Wednesday.

In the event that two or more members ask a similar question, one will be selected to cover the topic and, so as not to discourage people from speaking frankly, names will be withheld from the public domain.

All contributors will, though, be emailed when answers are published online.

No accounts or passwords are needed to register a question and anybody wishing to do so, must simply visit the following link: http://www.ycst.org.uk/submit-sgm-question/

Commenting on the question-and-answer idea, Trust chairman John Lacey said: “The debate about the transfer of the Trust shareholding continues to be debated vigorously amongst fans, particularly on various social media platforms and we want to extend the debate not only among Trust members, but also more widely to include all supporters of York City, some of whom will have no particular commitment to the Trust.”

Junior players from local league clubs, meanwhile, can watch next weekend’s home game against Southport free of charge.

City are billing the game as “Junior League Day” and the team with the biggest number of players in attendance will also be invited to return to Bootham Crescent to play a game on the pitch against a league representative side of the same age group.

The offer is open to all players from junior teams in the York & Ryedale Mitchell Sports Football League, City of York Girls Football League, and the YMSV York Minor League.

Players must attend the game wearing their team’s shirt and also be accompanied by a full paying adult or adult season-ticket holder.

All players will be asked to register with City’s Foundation staff in the car park before kick-off, giving their name, team and playing position.

All those who register will also be issued with a raffle ticket to win footballs, donated by the York & Ryedale Mitchell League in a half-time draw.

Speaking about the scheme, a club spokesman said: “The introduction of Junior League Day is part of a series of new initiatives which will, hopefully, become a regular feature in the York City calendar. We are keen to strengthen our bonds with the local community and draw in new supporters from York and the surrounding areas.

“The club is delighted to be linking up with the local junior leagues to offer free admission against Southport and want all youngsters to come along wearing their junior shirts with pride. We hope that many will go on to become lifelong supporters of the club and return to us in the future wearing City shirts.”

City are also staging an additional open scholarship trial for Year 11 school leavers, seeking to become professional footballers.

Last month’s trials resulted in several players being invited to train with the Minstermen’s academy and interested youngsters are now being encouraged to attend a two-hour session at York Sports Village from 1pm to 3pm on Thursday, April 5.

Anyone interested, must register via https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BG9FV2D before 5pm on Monday, April 2.

Successful trialists will be offered scholarships, starting in September 2018, on either the York City Football Club Sport with Football Technical Diploma Level 3 (full-time two-year course) or the York City Football Club Sport Coaching and Leadership Level 2 (full-time, one-year course), depending on previous academic qualifications.

Both courses will allow youngsters to study and learn while playing under-18 football for the Minstermen in competitions, including the National League and FA Youth Cup, with training provided by UEFA Pro and UEFA ‘A’ licensed coaches.

The opportunity will also be there to secure a professional contract with the club during the scholarship and bursaries are available on acceptance of places.

Boys who attended the February trials should not re-apply, but the club would encourage any other aspiring youngsters from the Yorkshire and Teesside area, born between September 1, 2001 and August 31, 2002, to go along.