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CFU Annual General Meeting – Thursday 12th November 2020

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of City Fans United and Chester Football Club will be held on Thursday 12th November 2020, at 7.30pm.

 

The meeting will be held by Zoom due to the Government’s Covid-19 restrictions. If you are an existing member, please email jeff.banks@chesterfc.com with your membership number (online current members will be permitted to watch the meeting via the link provided), by at the latest 5pm Wednesday 11th November 2020.

 

The link to the meeting will be sent over to those members emailing their request to join next week by at the latest Thursday afternoon. On the night upon joining the meeting you will be placed into a ‘meeting room’ before being admitted into the AGM. Please ensure you have your name showing as guests will not be admitted. Please visit this link for guidance on how to do this.

 

Members have been emailed the documents relating to the AGM so please check your inbox for this information. If you cannot see the email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folders in case it has dropped into those. Members not on email will have been sent out paper copies to the address we have on record for you.

 

We will send out further updates with regards to next week’s meeting in the next few days in order for members not familiar with Zoom to have an understanding of how to use the application.

 

AGM Deferral Notice

Posted by Jeff Banks on

It had been anticipated that we would be writing to you this week with all the documentation for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) as required under our constitution. A key element of the AGM is to review the historic financial performance of the club and provide an outline of our finances over the coming year . We are not required to have a formal audit, but our Accountants, Hargreaves and Wood, provide members with an independent assessment of our statutory accounts for 2019/20 and comment on the club’s financial prospects for 2020/21.

 

As you all will be aware Football finds itself in very uncertain times at present with significant threat to the 2020/21 season given the ongoing impact of COVID-19. This has been further compounded following the recent decision by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to retain our elite classification, preventing the admittance of spectators, and this has created significant uncertainty over the financial modelling for the coming year.

 

At present the Club is awaiting details of the financial support we understand that central government is prepared to provide to enable us to play our matches behind closed doors. Once we have these details we will be able to judge whether this is sufficient to cover the resulting funding shortfall (i.e. gate receipts, season tickets, hospitality, sponsorship, etc.). The Board and our Accountants feel that these things need to be finalised before we can effectively brief members about the financial position and our plans for the season ahead.

 

As a Board we believe that the financial sustainability of the Football Club Is a fundamental cornerstone of the AGM process and as such it would be inappropriate to hold the meeting until such a time the club and our accountants have the necessary details and can provide an informed narrative. As such the decision has been made to postpone the AGM meeting until Thursday 12th November at 19:30, which will be facilitated via the Zoom platform to comply with social distancing measures. The documentation for the AGM, including the financial report will be sent out at least two weeks in advance of the AGM.”

 

City Fans United – Informal Zoom Meeting TO BE RESCHEDULED

Posted by Jeff Banks on

UPDATE – The informal online zoom meeting that was initially rescheduled for Thursday 17th September will be rescheduled due a number of changing factors around the forthcoming season. The board wish to ensure that they have correct information to answer your questions in what is an ever changing environment right now as far as the upcoming season is concerned. Please accept our apologies for the late change of plan. The zoom link will be posted here in due course, and a separate communication to CFU members on email will follow over the next couple of days once we have a new date for the meeting.

 

It’s been a while since we sent an update to members, so we thought it about right to publish an update on the CFU website, with regards to events taking place recently and due to take place in the near future.

 

As far as City Fans United’s next meeting is concerned, we will be having an online zoom meeting on DATE TBC (7.30pm start), where the meeting will be an informal one, so please sign up to Zoom if not already done so and we’ll send through the link for that in our next update, to enable you to take part in the meeting.

 

We hope that you can join us online on the night given the fact that we’re unable to have any fans attending inside the Blues Bar that evening – we’d also like to invite any questions you have for that meeting. Please email jeff.banks@chesterfc.com with any questions you may have for the meeting, so that we can pass on to the relevant person.

 

We look forward to seeing you via the Zoom meeting online, and will update on the date once this has been set by the board. Thank you for your continued support of Chester FC.

 

 

Elections to CFU Board 2020

Posted by Mike Day on

City Fans United members who believe they can contribute to the future success of Chester FC are being encouraged to put themselves forward as candidates for the board.

City Fans United is the supporters’ group which owns Chester FC and any member can stand for election provided they are aged 18 or over and have been a fully paid up member since 8th July 2020.

Directors normally serve for a period of three years before standing down or being re-elected, and if elected you will have the opportunity to play a key role in the ongoing development of Chester FC and City Fans United.

This year’s AGM is being held on Thursday 22nd October 2020 and there are seven vacancies on the board to return it to its normal number of 10 due to resignations since last year and expiry of tenure.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to Monday 14th September 2020. The board agreed to the extension after learning some communications to members were undelivered so as to ensure everyone who is eligible is given adequate time to consider and submit an application if they are interested.

Andrew Morris, Chairman of City Fans United and Chester FC, said: “Serving on the board of our football club is a real privilege and a hugely rewarding experience.

“It does require a significant amount of time and energy so it is vital prospective candidates understand the role and responsibilities of a director, however we would encourage any member who feels they have the ideas, enthusiasm and drive to help our club succeed to put themselves forward.

“Our club is having to navigate through unparalleled challenges but there is a great deal to be positive about and many reasons to be optimistic about the future, and it is critical we have a skilled, diverse and committed board to take us forward.”

More information about the role of a director can be found here (https://cityfansunited.com/docs/Duties-of-a-Director-2020.pdf) and any members who would like to speak with a current board member to understand more about the role can email chris.robson@chesterfc.com to arrange this.

If you wish to put yourself forward for election, you will need to complete the nomination form found here (https://cityfansunited.com/docs/Nomination-form-2020.pdf) and obtain two nominations from other members of City Fans United. These can take the form of a signature on your application form or can be provided separately by email if you are unable to obtain a signature.

You have the opportunity to write a manifesto of not less than 400 words and up to a maximum of 800 words, setting out the skills and expertise you can bring to the board. This can be submitted using the template found here (https://cityfansunited.com/docs/Manifesto-template-2020.pdf) and you should also include a passport size photograph of yourself.

Please note 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 there are 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 City Fans United secretary Christine Robson at Deva Stadium, Bumpers Lane, Chester CH1 4LT and marked ‘Private and in Confidence’ or emailed to  chris.robson@chesterfc.com, to arrive no later than 4pm on Monday 14th September 2020.

Board Update – 22nd June

Posted by Jeff Banks on

Chester FC wishes to update City Fans United members and supporters in relation to the National League North play-offs.

 

On Friday 19th June, our Club and the other 11 to have qualified for the National League North and South play-offs took part in a conference call with the National League and The FA.

 

We are sure supporters will understand this is a complex situation for both the clubs and the league given the need for Covid-19 testing, footballing considerations as player registrations expired in May and the logistical arrangements of staging matches safely.

 

The requirements for competing in the play-offs were set out to clubs for the first time on Friday and as a board we have spent a considerable amount of time over the weekend reviewing this information and working through the challenges and potential solutions.

 

While the Club took the decision to furlough the playing squad and coaching staff in preparation for this eventuality, there are still a number of practical and financial considerations to be taken into account, including but not limited to:

 

  • The Club is required to develop a thorough Covid risk assessment and stadium management plan in the unlikely event we are required to host a game in the play-offs. This plan includes the appointment of a Covid Officer and Medical Officer and must be approved by both the Safety Advisory Group and the National League.
  • The Club must develop a viable Covid testing process for all players and coaching staff in order to participate in the play-offs. These tests must meet clinical testing standards and the provider must be certified and approved by the National League Medical Officer. As testing is required weekly for a minimum of a three week period, this is a significant financial cost for clubs.
  • We continue to work with the management team around the development of Covid compliant training sessions in line with FA and Government guidance. This includes the use of small groups, non-contact training at stage one, regular sterilisation of equipment and sessions of limited duration held at a suitable venue.
  • The Club has held provisional conversations with the playing squad and coaching staff regarding the contractual wage and bonus structures which would ordinarily be in place for the play-offs. This will enable the Club to reach a clear understanding of the costs and potential liabilities of taking part. Although the players have been undertaking personal training regimes at home, participation in the play-offs will require them to return from furlough leave for training and matches which has potential cost implications for the Club.
  • We continue to engage with the National League regarding several outstanding queries around player registration including the use of loan players, in particular those players whose contracts have expired and those whose loan spells have come to an end, to ensure these players will be available should clubs participate.

 

The Board is continuing to work tirelessly on this matter with relevant stakeholders and wishes to reiterate to supporters our desire to uphold the integrity of the competition and to ensure the players, management and fans, have the opportunity to finish the 2019/20 season on the pitch. However, we cannot risk the financial security of the Club and this will be paramount to our decision.

 

We understand this is an emotive issue and we are committed to being open and transparent with members and supporters and will provide further updates as soon as we are able to.

 

Thank you for your continued support, patience and understanding.