THE Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust has sponsored five players for the 2017/18 campaign.

Filipe Morais, Jake Turner, Jeff King, Connor Hall and Alex Perry will all be backed by the group through their new Academy Fund.

New chairman Daniel Izza said the venture represented a shift in emphasis for the trust, who are now looking to channel their funding into different areas.

“As a consequence of the improvement of the finances and some success on the field, the Trust believe it is appropriate to broaden its role to include direct financial assistance to specific projects and to address issues relating to improvement of the match experience for the fans,” he said in a statement issued this week.

“Our efforts in investigating the reinstatement of the Fan Zone and the launch of our direct support of young players and the Academy Fund are the beginning of new initiatives for the benefit of the club and fans.

“The Academy Fund will be a focus for raising funds for the Supporters’ trust to provide direct support for the great work undertaken by the academy. We consider giving our young players a helping hand and giving them the best opportunity to make it in the professional game is a good way of building our club in the right way.

“We are all avid fans on the board and have the success of the club at heart. It is for this reason that we will continue to call the club to account for its actions where appropriate and to strive for representation at the highest level of the club. The more we are integrated with the club and our membership, the more our aims will be furthered in the aspiration of a secure and stable club for all the fans, successful both on and off the field.”

The Academy Fund was launched this week in conjunction with Bolton at Home.