Working party looks into Supporters Trust
We're on the brink of a new season and our club is rapidly closing in on its 100th anniversary... or is it?
If you’ve been watching Hendon for any length of time, you’ll be only too aware that we’ve had our share of ups and downs both on and off the pitch. Cup runs that have seen us take on Leyton Orient, Cardiff, Notts County and Blackpool were preceded by heart-stopping battles against relegation.
The club is at a crossroads just now. To the left, is an affordable and sustainable new future. To the right is ….. well it just doesn’t bear thinking about.
But if we’re not prepared to think about it, then no-one else will.
Put simply, it’s time for the supporters of Hendon Football Club to show how much we care about this great club of ours. It’s time to plan for the best and to prepare for the worst.
A group of supporters is currently looking into the future formation of a Supporters Trust for Hendon FC, with the aim of assisting the club in the somewhat uncertain future. The recent problems being faced by the club have been well documented by the local and national press, on the website and discussed at supporter meetings, on our internet forum and at matches.
That amounts to a lot of talk but, the Supporters Association aside, precious little action.
Despite the current climate of uncertainty, little action has been taken by the supporters to safeguard the future of football for Hendon Football Club, wherever and at whatever level we may be playing. As Arbiter PLC has undergone major changes, the football club's importance to the company has been reduced, and the future may well see funding and other links cut entirely.
As supporters, we need to be ready for such an eventuality, to ensure that our club can continue to play football for many years to come, whether at Claremont Road, Copthall Stadium or Gladstone Park. We need to plan to work with David Bedford and others to help move up the non-league pyramid system but, equally, we need to prepare for the possibility that we drop down a level or two (or more).
The trust would be run alongside the existing Supporters Association, and all supporters would be encouraged to become members of both Trust and Supporters Association. While some of the aims of the two entities would be the same - both would aim to raise funds for the club and both will be supporter run - they would differ in some key ways.
Typical aims of a Supporters Trust are:
- To gain supporter representation on the football club board
- To aim to buy a shareholding in the club, or buy the club outright
- To assist with the day to day costs of running the football club
- To help foster greater links within the local community
- To ensure the future of football in the local community
Ultimately, a Hendon Football Club Supporters Trust would aim to allow supporters to have a say in the future of the football club, and allow us to prepare for a future at Claremont Road, Copthall Stadium or anywhere else we may end up playing and watching our football.
More details on Supporters Trusts can be found at Supporters-Direct.org.uk.
What can I do?
If we can get the trust off the ground, there will be lots to do. Most of what is required to run a successful Supporters Trust falls into one of three categories:
1. Your Time
2. Your Ideas
3. Your Money
At present, we are only in the initial stages of sounding out the possibilities for a trust in the future. As such, we are looking to find out three things:
1. Who is interested in becoming a member of a Supporters Trust run with
aims similar to those outlined above?
2. Who is able, willing or interested in assisting with the setting up and
maintainance of such a Trust for the future?
3. Who would be willing to pay a regular monthly subscription into such a
trust to help maintain a budget for both the trust and the football club?
Such funds would be safeguarded within the trust until such time as it could
be guaranteed to be spent to the benefit of the football club's health.
To help gauge supporter opinion and assist us with the initial sounding, we have set up a web form to collect some basic details regarding the above. We encourage all people with an interest in the future of Hendon Football Club to fill out the form, regardless of attendance at matches, or your location.
We cannot imagine a winter without Hendon Football Club and we don’t want to find out what that would be like. Do you?
For more information on what we hope to achieve, please speak to Dave Garner, Phil Rogers or Simon Lawrence at any game