Author: Mike Day

City Fans United Members Meeting

A reminder that the next City Fans United (CFU) Members Meeting, will be held this Thursday, 27th March at 7:30pm in the Cestrian Bar, Chester FC.

Agenda
a. Apologies
b. Football Update – Jim Green
c. Finance Update – Neil Berry
d. Fanzone Update – Oliver Hill
e. New Kits update – Kieron Shiel
f. Membership Reminder – Mike Day

There will also be a Q&A session. If you have any questions you’d like to submit to the board of directors in advance of the meeting, please send them to chris.robson@chesterfc.com

There will also be an opportunity to view the meeting via a live stream.

Further meetings are also planned for later in the year.
Thursday 26th June – informal
Thursday 25th September – informal
Thursday 27th November – (AGM) formal

Neil Berry Joins as Treasurer

City Fans United are pleased to announce that Neil Berry has been co-opted to the Board of Directors as Treasurer.

Neil is a recently retired Chartered Accountant, having spent over 30 years working in management positions within the financial services industry, his last role being Financial Controller at M&S Bank.

Neil has been a Chester FC supporter since 1979, and has been a CFU member and loan note sponsor since the club reformed in 2010, as well as being a Season Ticket Holder.

Neil will be replacing Matt Dickenson as Treasurer. Matt is relinquishing the role but remaining a part of the CFU Board to support the Directors with their respective portfolios.

Welcome Neil!

Senior Blues Launch Fundraiser

Since our formation, the Senior Blues have pledged support to Chester FC’s Academy, raising almost £30,000 in just over 10 years.

Recognising the need for additional funding for maintenance and infrastructure projects throughout the club, the Senior Blues have recently decided to extend their support to some of these aspects. This has included purchasing new chairs for the boardroom, amongst other initiatives.

Inspired by a recent Senior Blues Meeting where Nick Phillipson, CFU Director of Facilities, spoke of the continual spend on upkeep of the stadium, the Senior Blues have this week announced a fundraiser to replace existing goal nets.

Replacing the nets is a priority requirement for the club, and at a cost of around £700, the Senior Blues felt that this was an area in which they could provide further assistance.

The group are now extending this fundraiser to the wider fanbase, asking that fans donate a minimum of £10 to fund this project.

Should the fundraiser raise in excess of our target, the Senior Blues will ascertain the most pressing smaller infrastructural requirements and reserve any surplus funds for the designated purpose.

If you want to donate to the scheme then please transfer money using the details below:-

Account Name: Chester City Supporters Society
Sort Code: 08-92-99
Bank Account: 65070431
Reference: NET

In what is an outstanding season on the pitch, the Senior Blues ask that supporters back the Club in this way to help us continue our progress as a fan owned club.

Our City, Our Community, Our Club.

Election to the Board of City Fans United and Chester FC

The date of the AGM has already been published and I now formally confirm that it will be Thursday 3rd November 2022 at 7.30pm in The Blues Bar.  I am writing to all our members to invite them to stand for election to the Board of City Fans United and Chester Football Club.  Due to a resignation since last year and expiry of tenure there will be a total of four vacancies, to bring our numbers back up to our normal Board of eleven.

If you would like to meet with a director, please let me know as soon as possible and I will make the necessary arrangements for this to happen.

If elected, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the future success and on-going development of Chester FC and City Fans United; you will normally serve as a Director for a period of three years before standing down or being re-elected.  More information about the role of a director is attached.

To be eligible to stand for election, you must be 18 years of age or over and must have been a member of City Fans United for at least 60 days prior to the closing date for nomination which is 21st September 2022.  This means that you must have been a fully paid up member by 23rd July 2022.  The same eligibility rule applies if you are nominating someone to stand for the board.

Linked below you will find a nomination form should you wish to put yourself forward for one of the vacant board positions.  You should complete the form and also obtain two nominations from other members of City Fans United (a current member of the Board cannot be a nominee).  The nominations can take the form of a signature on your application form, or can be provided separately by email in support of your application if you are unable to obtain a physical signature from your sponsor.

You have the opportunity to write a manifesto of not less than 400 words and up to a maximum of 800 words.  The manifesto should be set out based on the template linked below and used to sell the skills and expertise that you can bring to the board.  You should also include a passport size photograph of yourself which can be circulated to members along with your manifesto.  There will be no campaigning other than circulation of the manifestos: this includes self-promotion of any form including use of social media.  Full details of the election policy are included on the CFU website and you must abide by the rules for the conduct of elections set out in the policy.  In the event that we have more applications than places available, an election will be held and members will use this information to elect candidates of their choice to the board.

If elected you will be required to complete a criminal record check and the FA Owners’ & Directors Test’; the requirements relating to this may be viewed at www.thefa.com.  This test is broadly similar to our requirements of board members:

·      You must not be a disqualified director

·      You must not be subject to a bankruptcy order or have an Individual           Voluntary Arrangement in place with creditors.

·      You must not have any unspent criminal convictions.

Nominations with your manifesto should be returned to me at the Deva Stadium (registered office), Bumpers Lane, Chester CH1 4LT and marked “Private and in Confidence” or emailed to me at chris.robson@chesterfc.com , to arrive no later than 4pm on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

If you have any questions on the election process or on board membership in general, please contact me via email address or telephone 01244 371376.

Finally, on behalf of the board, thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely

Christine R Robson

Secretary, Chester City Supporters’ Society    

Document Links:

Duties of a Director
Manifesto Template
Nomination Form

Stuart Murphy – statement from City Fans United board

Following a thorough review, we can confirm that no commitments remain outstanding, and that matters have now been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. We again thank Mr Murphy for all his considerable financial assistance over the last two years, and wish him well with his 1885 Sporting Village project.