Category: News

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Fundraising working group update

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The Fundraising Working Group have now met twice to establish it how it can assist Chester FC in both short and long term objectives.

There are a number of plans for events which will be formally advertised this week. The Chester FC website will have a dedicated fundraising page and there is also a fundraising twitter account being created.

There will also be the launch of an Auction Site with some great items on.

Any suggestions or comments can be made via fundraising@chesterfc.com We have received many suggestions and please keep them coming in. Due to the fact that we need to establish some quick wins, we have focussed our efforts on getting a number of events running in February and March but will continue to put an active programme of fundraising events throughout the year.

On Wednesday we ask all supporters to attend the Youth Academy Match and show your support to this initiative. The Fundraising Team will be in the Blues Bar to offer assistance and promote forthcoming events.

#BACKTHEBLUES

Jonathan Kerr

David Williams

David O’Toole

Peter Mitchell

Ed Jones

Geoff Leith

Lee Saxby

Jon Allman

CFU statement

Posted by Neil Bellis on

Following Thursday’s CFU meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium, three directors have decided to resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.

They are Jonny Hughes, Neil Bellis and Anne Salmon.

The scheduled board meeting for Monday will go ahead as planned with the remaining CFU directors. Updates from that meeting will follow in due course.

Below follows statements from Jonny, Neil and Anne.

Jonny Hughes, Chair of City Fans United

Firstly, let me express my gratitude and respect to all the concerned CFU members who gathered at the Swansway Chester Stadium last Thursday night at our Formal CFU Meeting.

It was never going to be easy to give such news to you all and I have to admit that for quite a while I felt under tremendous pressure and some of my replies probably reflected that.

I understand, however, that for all the pressure I felt, you were all hearing this news for the first time and were understandably hurt, angry and upset: For that I am truly sorry and I apologise for my part as a member of your board that didn’t let you know sooner and I also accept that I let you down.

Since then I have been reflecting heavily on how we can all move forward together as one team to ensure there will always be a Chester FC. For that to happen I strongly believe we all need to come together, like we did at the Guild Hall, galvanised by purpose and passion and with nothing but fire in our hearts as we continue to realise our dreams of a sustainable fan owned football club playing at the highest level possible in the city of Chester.

For that to happen, I also believe there needs to be changes. So, with the best interests of the club at heart, I have taken the decision to resign my position of Chair of City Fans United and as a member of your board of directors with immediate effect.

That in no way means I am giving up the fight for our club however … no chance. I intend to continue to be the fully-committed and active fan and volunteer I always have been and to continue to offer my skill-sets, verve and energy in support of the club so I can do my part to help put things right.

I have been humbled by the messages of support that I have received in the last 24 hours, but for all of that I recognise that as a board we got some important things wrong: Again, I am truly sorry. I love this club. I love the people. I love our volunteers: There is and only ever will be one Chester FC, so my support for the team on the pitch and the team off it will always be unwavering.

Together we will get through this and prosper under the banner of Fan Ownership and City Fans United. Together, we are Chester FC.

Thank you for the privilege and see you on the Harry Mac (greatest terrace in the land), Jonny Hughes

CTID

Neil Bellis, Vice-Chair of City Fans United

After a period of reflection over the past few days, I have decided to resign from the board of City Fans United.

It is clear that the board needs to regain the confidence of the fan base in order to move forward as a club. As a member of the board which has failed so badly over the past year, I feel it is necessary that I stand down. I also wish to take this opportunity to apologise to the fans for that failure.

I am still committed to the future of Chester FC as a fan-owned club, and will continue to offer any support to the club that I can.

Thank you, Neil Bellis

Anne Salmon, Director of City Fans United

I have done a lot of thinking since the meeting on Thursday and I believe that as one of the longer-standing board members, I should apologise for my part in our joint failure to act quickly or decisively enough to prevent the situation we find ourselves in today and therefore resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.

I will continue to be committed to the survival of Chester FC, supporting fundraising initiatives as a CFU member and a fan and I sincerely hope that those who have been calling for more immediate and decisive action will now step up and volunteer – especially with regards to Health and Safety.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who believed in me and voted me onto the Board in 2015, it was an honour and a privilege and I am sorry if you feel I have let you down. I also wish all those remaining on the CFU Board and in the working groups, every success over the next few weeks.

Thank you, Anne Salmon.

Fundraising working group meeting

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The next fundraising working group meeting is taking place tomorrow (Sunday January 28) at the The Chimneys inn, Hooton Green, in Hooton.

The meeting will start at 3.30pm. Anyone who feel like they could help is invited to attend.

If you can’t make it but still want to be involved in the work of the group, or have any ideas which you would like the group to look at, then please email fundraising@chesterfc.com

Formal CFU meeting next week

Posted by Neil Bellis on

CFU members are invited to attend our first formal CFU meeting of 2018 in the Blues Bar on Thursday January 25, starting at 7.30pm.

The agenda for the evening is as follows;

Welcome (JH)

Apologies

Finance update (LK)

BREAK

Working groups (all)

Q&A

The streaming service will be available for any owners who can’t make it down to the stadium on the night. You must be a registered CFU member to watch the streaming service. Please email neil.bellis@chesterfc.com by January 24th if you want to watch the stream but haven’t previously signed up.

Seals lottery December 2017 draw

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The latest Seals Lottery draw has taken place with the random number selector ‘button’ being pressed by Haidee McHugh of the Accounts Office,, witnessed by Barbara Rogers Accounts volunteer and Lottery Administrator Brian Burns.

Winners:
1st – £525.00 no. 958 Mr G Pullar
2nd – £393.75 no. 816 Mr J Bithell
3rd – £262.50 no. 409 Mr J Harding

Total lottery prizes are also matched by funds going to the development of Chester Football Club To join the Seals Lottery, download the Application form today via this link and you could be the next big winner

http://www.cityfansunited.com/docs/seals_lottery-2.pdf

or pick up a form from the ticket office. (cost is £5 per number per month)

(Note : -The Seals Lottery is now open to anyone aged 16 or over).

CFU statement – The fight is on!

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The CFU Board wish to provide the following statement to all members, volunteers, supporters, stakeholders and friends of Chester FC.

The Board of City Fans United is aware of the concerns currently being expressed across the CFU Membership and the wider fan-base regarding the direction of the Club both on and off the field of play. We want to assure everybody that we are listening and that we intend to act to address these concerns and that your club needs your passion, support and help in assisting us to do this.

We also understand that when the prolonged period of results on the pitch are not going as we either hoped or planned, this has led to a decline of the ‘feel-good’ factor we enjoyed in the early days after our reformation. We have also seen our attendances drop considerably.

We know we need to recapture this and concentrate our efforts and ethos back onto community and fan engagement. Improved communication from us as a Board will be key to this.

On Monday night, we organised an informal consultation meeting with ex-board members, previous key volunteers, Community Trust colleagues and our CEO to assess and address the current issues surrounding the club and to work with us to produce and deliver a strategy to help improve the club’s fortunes.

As an outcome of this honest, frank but positive meeting, we will be setting-up a number of working groups and asking for fan involvement in these to take our plans forward. You, the volunteers and fans of this club are its greatest asset and our club needs your support now more than ever.

The main message is, however: The fight is on to avoid relegation and address the impact of reduced gates on our finances and budget projections. We have 18 league games left, 10 of which are at home and we all need to be behind the team as we grind our way out of relegation: The club needs its 12th man.

As we launch new initiatives, we ask you support them with vigour and as the lads battle on the pitch, we urge you all to get to each and every home game and to bring a friend or two (or ten) to boost our support and cheer them to victory.

This club is precious. This club is ours. Together WE are Chester FC and WE can do this!!

Our City, Our Community, Our Club (Always)

Jonny Hughes
Neil Bellis
Laurence Kirby
Anne Salmon
Mike Day
David Harrington-Wright
David O’Toole
David Williams
Mark Jones
Andrew Morris

Seals lottery November 2017 draw

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The latest Seals Lottery draw has taken place with the random number selector ‘button’ being pressed by Youth Academy Head Calum McIntyre, witnessed by Community Trust CEO Jim Green and Lottery Administrator Brian Burns.

Winners:
1st – £525.00 no. 360 Mrs.S.Crowther
2nd – £393.75 no. 155 Mr.P.Jones
3rd – £262.50 no. 153 Mr.G.Billington

Total lottery prizes are also matched by funds going to the development of Chester Football Club

To join the Seals Lottery, download the Application form today via this link and you could be the next big winner

http://www.cityfansunited.com/docs/seals_lottery-2.pdf

or pick up a form from the ticket office. (cost is £5 per number per month)

(Note : -The Seals Lottery is now open to anyone aged 16 or over).

CFU board portfolio allocations

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The board of City Fans United (CFU) is pleased to announce a change in how they will work to help drive the club forward as well as improve transparency, accountability and foster closer and more focused working relations with members, fans and stakeholders.

Instead of each director having a portfolio, members of the board will instead be responsible for individual items (e.g. Squad Builder, CFU Membership, Health and Safety) and with each item falling under one of three broader headings.

The three headings are: Membership and Engagement, Governance and Income Generation.

The Portfolio document (PDF) can be downloaded here…

The board have split the items based on the skill-sets and talents of board members but agreed that as income generation is of paramount importance, all directors should ultimately be responsible for at least one project under that heading.

The hope with this restructuring of board member responsibilities is also that both members and fans will have a clear line of communication should they wish to suggest an idea for a certain item or volunteer for one.

CFU chair Jonny Hughes said: “As you can see from the attached document, we have looked at the way we work and agreed a path that will see improved transparency and accountability for our members as well as promoting a more focused and targeted workflow throughout the business.

“The next step for the board on this is to provide a detailed action plan for each item, taking in current and past data, to project realistic targets for growth and to outline a plan for our members on how these targets will be achieved and, most importantly, who will help us achieve them. Items will be monitored and progress reported on regularly.

“One thing which I think is important to say is that this is a working document. Items will be added and taken away as the needs of the football club change over time but that doesn’t mean that if you think there is something missing you can’t tell us. Part of ensuring that the club is successful as a fan owned club is the continued engagement of members, fans and stakeholders.

“In fact, how well we all work as a team is what will ultimately define how successful we are. Whether you are a board member or not, the responsibility of this football club rests with all of us. “In line with this, we will be asking for members and fans to engage with us more than they ever have before and will be releasing details soon of the many ways people can help. If you would like to pre-empt this and get in touch in touch with us directly, then please do.

“The team is you.”

Informal CFU Meeting Update: Change of Venue and Meet Marcus Bignot

Posted by Mike Day on

The next informal CFU members meeting, scheduled for Thursday 23rd November, will be a bit different than usual.

We are switching venue from the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium to:
The Anchor Pub in Saltney.

Members of the CFU board will welcome manager Marcus Bignot and CEO Mark Maguire with fans able to ask questions of everyone.

The change in venue to The Anchor in Saltney is part of a wider move by the board of directors to start encouraging more people to attend CFU meetings and to help raise the profile of City Fans United across Chester, Cheshire and North Wales.

Jonny Hughes, Chair of City Fans United, said: “In football if you want success then you have to perform home and away, and that’s exactly what we have identified we need to do.

“We have seen attendances at CFU meetings go down slowly over time, so it’s about time we did something different.

“By taking more of a fan forum type approach to informal CFU meetings and switching venues to social clubs, halls and pubs in the places and areas our fans live in, we’re hoping to encourage more members to attend.

“But, not only that. We need to start engaging with our fans and the wider public more, so the plan is to open up future fan forums to non-members also to help raise our profile and drive our membership forward.

The meeting will start at the usual time of 7:30pm.
The address for The Anchor is 5 High Street, Saltney, Chester, CH4 8SE.

We hope to see you there!

CFU Members Meeting Thursday 14th September

Posted by Mike Day on

The next City Fans United owners meeting is next Thursday, September 14th in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium with a 7.30pm start.

This is a formal members meeting.
Meeting Agenda available through this link

The streaming service will available for any owners who can’t make it down to the stadium on the night. You must have renewed before the day of the meeting to eligible to watch the streaming service so don’t hesitate if you haven’t signed up already! Please email neil.bellis@chesterfc.com by September 13th if you want to watch the stream but haven’t previously signed up.