After all, if he can make sustainability work in the entrenched, macho world of professional football,
everything else should be a piece of dairy-free cake, right?
“I would say 2050 is easily doable,” nods the father-of-two over coffee – liquid oats instead of milk – in the
club’s green-walled boardroom. “Actually, I think in five years’ time, we could see that target coming down
to 2040, which would still be achievable. But the super-important thing is that we now have this target
because it’s an acknowledgement there’s a problem and that we have to get to grips with it.”
He has previously donated money to both the Labour and Green parties but says he would work with the
current Tory government on reducing climate change. He met Theresa May a couple of weeks ago to
workshop ideas and would be available if he got the call from Boris Johnson. “This is the biggest problem
facing the planet,” he says. “And it will only be solved by people working together.”
That turning soccer sustainable hasn’t been easy, there can be little doubt. Rovers fans, certainly, have been
known to voice scepticism about Vince’s methods since he took over the club in 2010. Specifically, they
have voiced scepticism about their match-day sausage rolls disappearing.
“I had someone say to me they used to be able to come here and have a pie and a pint,” smiles Vince. “I said
you can still have a pie and pint – but our pies don’t have animal bits in and our pints aren’t made with fish
bladders.”
When Vince took over Rovers in 2010, they had just survived relegation to the sixth tier of English football
and were facing a winding up order because of mounting debt
Another fan told him his ideas were feminising football. “I said I’ll take that and wear it as a badge of
honour,” he says.
Is he forcing his values on others, though? “Look, there’s a football match here for two hours once a
fortnight. So we’re not starving anyone off meat. We’re saying use that opportunity to try something
different. And it’s super-tasty. Most people have come on board.”
Fans visit from other clubs just to try the food, he reckons. Jamie and Jimmy have been here for their Friday
Night Feast. When I later tuck into a burger and nut salad, I can see why. Put it this way, it knocks the socks
off a cup of Bovril.
Probably more significant in easing these changes through, however, is that they have come alongside – and
probably helped bring – success. When Vince, who is originally from Great Yamouth, took over Rovers in
2010, they had just survived relegation to the sixth tier of English football and were facing a winding up
order because of mounting debt.
“The club asked for £30,000 to help survive that summer,” he recalls. “It’s been here 125 years and is a big
part of the community, so why not help? Then in the autumn, that had run out. They said: you need to be
chairman. And I said: I really don’t, I have enough going on. But it became clear it was a choice between
taking responsibility or it folding. So, there was no choice, really.”