This weekend’s friendly against Girona will be sponsored by Blackburn Rovers Supporters’ Trust, now known as We Are the Rovers.

It will be the first time the group has sponsored a men’s first-team fixture at Ewood Park.

Rovers say it “signifies the ongoing development and strength of the relationship between the football club and our fans”.

CEO Steve Waggott will sign a memorandum of understanding with the group during the half-time interval, giving them a platform to be involved with “key strategic planning” and encouraging them to bring ideas forward.

Both parties are aiming to improve fan experience and encourage new supporters to attend games and start following the club.

The sponsorship also ties in with the ongoing One Rovers campaign, which aims to highlight that the club is for all.

Waggott hopes the new agreement will help build a strong relationship between Rovers and their fan base.

“Since arriving at the club nearly six years ago I’ve tried to make myself as accessible as possible to as many of our fanbases and groups,” he said.

“I have and still do attend the fans forum, and general supporters consultation meetings, plus hold one-to-one meetings on matchdays for fans to come in and discuss the club.

“I have also met regularly with the chair of the Supporters’ Trust and attended some of their meetings.

“With the release of the fan-led review and the imminent publication of a white paper regarding the future sustainability of football, we are now taking a very important step to establish a more formal relationship with We Are the Rovers through a memorandum of understanding. 

“Future meetings between both the club and We Are the Rovers will be at a strategic level, with the current fans forum meetings still having a vital role around the operations of the club, what happens on a matchday, retail and other relevant matters.”

The group has also been given the responsibility of arranging elements of the game such as pre-match activities.

Various other supporter groups will be running stalls in the Fanzone ahead of kick-off, including the newly launched South Asian Supporters Group.

Additionally, more than £1,000 has been raised with the help of BRFCS fan message board to cover the costs of match tickets and transport for young people in the local community who would not be able to attend otherwise. This has been organised alongside Blackburn Youth Zone.

We Are the Rovers have also sponsored Brinscall’s Under-7 team to be the pre-match flag bearers and a local band, 3 Men Gone Mad, who will perform in the Blues Bar after the final whistle.

Waggott added: “To promote this closer working relationship, we’ve handed over to the fans certain elements of the Girona game.

“Those elements will cover the pre-match activities, half-time presentations and post-match music, which will all be driven by We Are the Rovers.

“The club will still carry out all the health and safety to enable supporters to arrive, watch the game and get home safely, but the fan base will be taking over the game and doing a multitude of different things.

“We hope to drive the attendance for this pre-season friendly against Girona on Saturday and are targeting in excess of a 5,000 attendance.”

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust will also be contributing to the occasion, arranging some family friendly activities.

We Are the Rovers chair John Murray stated: “We are committed to working with the club. We are determined to improve on the matchday experience and make Blackburn Rovers the go-to club in Lancashire.

“We are to sign a memorandum of understanding with club CEO Steve Waggott and his colleagues on the pitch at half-time.

“This will formalise our relationship with the Rovers management board and give us a platform to engage on future key strategic issues within the club. 

“It is a very welcome move, albeit we recognise it is two-way and we need to bring forward ideas in a professional manner.”

He added: “We are pleased to work with Blackburn Rovers and their charity, the Community Trust. 

“We look to Rovers fans to turn out in good numbers and hope this is the start of many more supporter lead initiatives.”

Tickets for the fixture remain on general sale. It is the final game of pre-season for Jon Dahl Tomasson’s squad ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign.

Girona finished 10th in the Spanish top flight last season, recording victories against Real Madrid and Sevilla.