Category: CFU Board News

The Board of City Fans United Canvas Members

City Fans United is the supporters group that owns Chester Football Club.
We have 1500 members, represented by an elected board of directors, who are responsible for running the club in line with the CFU constitution and our aims of being a community-focused, financially sustainable football club playing at the highest level possible.
To support our ambition for on-field success, the board recognises the need to grow and enhance CFU membership, making it easier to join and renew, simpler to make additional contributions for members who wish to do so, increase the number of members aged under 30, and ensure the benefits meet expectations.
The current membership fee of £12 has been in place since 2013, and we therefore wish to canvas members’ views on increasing this for 2024/25. We believe this has the potential to generate an extra £18,000, which would help towards the club’s running costs, allowing additional funds to be directed into football budgets.
We would appreciate CFU members taking the time to provide their feedback through a short survey, which has been emailed to the membership today. If you do not receive this email by Saturday 20 April, and you are a current CFU member, please contact membership@cityfansunited.com.

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!

Adrian Rattenbury joins CFU Board

The Board of City Fans United is pleased to confirm the co-option of Adrian Rattenbury as our Governance Director.
Adrian has vast experience in governance through his role with Fair Game, where he is a Director of the football charity that is striving for financial fair play.
He has been involved in professional sport and education for more than 40 years and is another welcome addition to the CFU Board.

Important Information Ahead of our AGM

The Annual General Meeting for Chester Football Club will take place on Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 7.30pm in the Cestrian Bar at the Leap76 Stadium. Doors will be open at 7pm.

To attend the meeting, you need to be a fully paid-up member of City Fans United on or before 13th August 2023, otherwise, you will not be eligible to attend the meeting or to vote on any of the resolutions.

Please note that the entry to the AGM will be via the side door to the Cestrian Bar and not through the main entrance, this is to ensure that all attendees are registered appropriately. To make this process as smooth as possible we recommend that you have your CFU membership number to hand on arrival.

For those who are unable to attend the AGM, the stream will be available in the CFU members’ section here.

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

Ian Swettenham Joins CFU Board

City Fans United is delighted to announce that Ian Swettenham has been appointed as a Director.

Ian, who is well known to Chester FC fans for his long-standing support of the football club, joins the Board having been co-opted this week.

Swettenham Chemists, which Ian and his wife Dawn have run for more than 30 years, play an active role in their communities and have sponsored the Blues for a decade.

Their support includes sponsorship of the Swettenham Chemists’ Community Stand at the Deva Stadium and the club’s Academy, where they have been crucial to the achievements of our youth section, which has now seen 19 players graduate to the first team since the reformation.

Ian is also a chartered accountant and his skills, experience and success further strengthens the Board as we seek to continue progressing on and off the pitch.

Welcome aboard, Ian!

Introducing our newest CFU Board member…

The Board of City Fans United are pleased to welcome Kate Mylchreest as a new Director.

Kate, who is the Head of Development at Storyhouse, has been co-opted on to the Board and will provide focus on the commercial portfolio.

Kate has worked in fundraising for the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years after gaining a degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Newcastle University. She is an avowed champion of supporting community programmes, particularly supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

She has considerable experience in the NHS and held senior positions at both the Countess of Chester and The Royal Liverpool University Hospital, before moving to Storyhouse.

Welcome aboard, Kate!