Annual General Meeting - August 2020

We held our AGM on Monday 22nd June where we recapped on the achievements of the club over the last 12 months, reviewed our financial position and operations and ratified our new subs policy ahead of next season (further details below).

End of Season Awards

Normally we would have expected to hold our Annual Awards Ceremony at the Club. This is an important milestone which allows us to recognise the contributions of all our players and hand out awards. We’re pleased to have been able to hold these sessions remotely for each of the teams and for some we were able to get medals and trophies out to the players once lockdown restrictions were eased.

Membership and Subscriptions

Firstly our annual subscription fees will remain unchanged from last season. However, we are fully aware of the current climate and have introduced a new policy on subs which will hopefully provide flexibility on payment instalments for those that require it.

We will be sending out more details in the coming days, but in summary:

• Payments can be made in one upfront payment or spread over a number of monthly instalments (as opposed to only 3 larger instalments previously)

• All players will need to be either fully paid up for the season or have automatic instalments for all payments set up by 1st September

• In order to be fair to everyone and not incur unnecessary expenses (see the section below), we will not be issuing new kit or training tops to any player who has not paid subs or set up instalments

• We have published pricing for players that join part way through a season

• In cases of genuine financial hardship, we have a process whereby families can apply via our Welfare Officer to receive support

  
  

What if season 2020/21 does not happen or gets curtailed like last season?Coronavirus hit us towards the end of last season when most of the regular league football had been played and the club had incurred just about all of its costs for the season. So far, all indications are that next season will be going ahead as normal (per the FA guidance above) and that is what we are planning for.

We will structure our costs for the new season with as much flexibility as possible, in order that if football gets curtailed we do not incur more cost than is needed. Of course, some things like buying kit and equipment are paid for upfront and cannot be recouped, whereas other costs such as playing facilities are largely incurred as they are used.

If season 20/21 gets cut short we will do our best to limit cost to the club, and will review and revise the subs accordingly. This could mean partial refunds to those who have paid up-front, and either partial refunds or reduced instalments to those paying on an instalment basis. The committee and the coaches are all parent volunteers who pay subs like everyone else. We will bring any proposals to an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting for approval by a majority, should we find ourselves in this worst-case scenario.

Parents can expect to receive requests for subscription in the next few days.

Fundraising and Sponsorship

We have been making progress on our fundraising and sponsorship agenda.

Recently we obtained a grant from the football foundation to invest in pitch maintenance as well as securing new and existing sponsors for the coming season.

We are incredibly grateful to all of the local businesses that have chosen to support the club for the coming season and encourage you all to support them.

We are looking for sponsors to support our U5, U6s, U10’s, U11s, U12s, U15s and U17s. If you have any suggestions – please let Giles Hayward (our Treasurer and Fund Raiser) know.