The 2022 annual general meeting was held last night (October 17, 2022). Here are three reports for general circulation:
Chairman’s Report
Introduction
Thank you for coming to Youngs Park tonight. A key part of the chairman’s report, is to focus on my reflections over the past 12 months, both on and off the pitch. I will also touch on some of our current challenges and future opportunities. Although the focus of this report is the football club (as a limited company), we are all invested in and inextricably linked to Youngs Park, I feel it is important to touch on the facility. For anyone new to the Club, ACS Ltd runs Youngs Park and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Charitable Trust that owns the building and land. Heidi Clark, Steve French and myself are Directors of ACS Ltd.
On the Field (Key Reflections)
- We continue to grow as a club with 34 teams & groups (previously 31) and are one of the biggest clubs in Norfolk, with football available from age 3 (Mini Kickers) all the way to our Vets team (35+) and walking football (50+).
- We have 7 adult mens teams (including x3 U18 teams) for the 22/23 season, plus a thriving walking football group for both recreational and competitive team players.
- The Adult mens 1st team achieved promotion to the Anglian Combination Premier League for the first time in their history, by winning Division 1 last season. This is an amazing achievement from everyone involved.
- Our continued focus on Womens & Girl’s football means for the first time, we have 2 Women’s teams playing in the NWGFL (both 7 & 11 aside), 3 Girls teams and Wildcats which targets new players to football. Our support for the NWGFL Cup finals at Youngs Park for all girl’s age groups and FA Schools U14-16 girls across Norfolk means our profile is growing.
- We continue to attract new coaches to the club, some with significant management / coaching experience and are committed as a club to investing in professional qualifications. Our coaches are amazing and their commitment to their players is unwavering.
- The secretary report will cover on the field successes in more detail.
Off the Field & Youngs Park (Key Reflections)
A relatively small number of committed volunteers run the football club and Youngs Park to ensure it is a safe environment, well governed, profitable and is “one of the best around” and this requires huge effort. We continue to get fantastic feedback about the facility and pitches from visiting teams, but sometimes it feels like we do not realise how fortunate we are.
- We achieved 3* Accredited as a football club (previously known as Community Club) which is the highest level available through the FA and an accolade surrounding our football offering (breadth & range of player pathways) and the high standards we demonstrate. It is incredibly important we protect our “orange and blue brand” and seek to maintain these standards through everything we do.
- We are financially stable (many clubs are not) as a football club. We have managed to keep player subscription and fee increases to an absolute minimum in recent years, however with spiralling costs this is becomes increasingly more challenging. Financial stability also gives us greater choice as a business in how we invest in our future. We are especially grateful for the part our community business sponsors & advertisers play making much of what we do possible. We really must formally thank Ricky Gedge for his time as Club Treasurer over a number years as he transitions out of this role over the coming weeks. Our Treasurers report will expand on the financials.
- Through donations, grant applications and residual profits we continue to invest in maintaining and developing the facility and infrastructure. This includes; investment of over £16k grant funding on pitch improvement in the last 12 months, new (extra) goals & replacement nets, fencing, patio and ongoing maintenance or replacement of machinery and equipment.
- We have recently partnered with #Her game too (an organisation set up to raise awareness against sexism within sport). We continue to support The Offside Trust to ensure we as a club are leading in raising awareness of safeguarding relating to child sexual abuse and have a prominent promotional board on the building listing key emergency helpline numbers. All new kits feature the Offside Trust logo and our Womens 1st Team feature #Hergametoo logo.
- I must underline the level of effort required to run Youngs Park (as a facility business) by the incredible volunteers, grounds staff and directors which absolutely benefits us all from a football club perspective. This enables so many people to focus on their passion – football on the pitch.
Opportunities, Challenges & Future Plans
One of our biggest success factors (75% growth in teams & groups over 7 years when Youngs Park opened) has also created our biggest challenge as a club and facility.
Put very simply – unless more people step up and volunteer to help run their club (behind the scenes) and support the day to day running of Youngs Park, we will struggle to expand or maintain the high standards we aspire too. We rely on a very small committed volunteer workforce across AFC and Youngs Park who are stretched and without more help can only do so much. We have advertised and asked for help in many different ways within the club and community. We really need more parents, players, supporters or the local community to help us with administration, match day support, fundraise, maintenance or take up a defined role within the club. One of the only alternatives would seem to be increase prices across the board and start paying many more people, which I personally want to minimise. Losing key people who we are dependent on is a concern.
Our other major challenge is the provision of training lights for 34 teams and groups which is well documented, but the reality is there seems to be no easy fix. With teams losing existing slots at AHS this has compounded the situation. Better use of the existing resources (electrical tripods lights) and improved logistical planning seems to be helping and the only short-term solution, albeit not ideal for anyone during the winter months, when the pitches need to be protected from long-term damage. Maintaining the diesel generator lights continues to be a challenge with very few local businesses seeming to have skills set or ability to help us. Conversations are ongoing to try to improve the situation.
Looking forward ………. We have an incredible opportunity to secure 3G pitch funding for c£1m project which I announced to members during September. This could be a game changer for us all, with the first key investment decision of £250k expected by the end of Dec22, with Football Foundation funding conversations in play and very positive thanks to the support of Norfolk FA. I will share further news when I can, but for now its essential people come forward right know to be part of a fundraising group to help raise £35k (this is a Football Foundation requirement to support future major grant funding). Please contact any club committee member if you can help as this really cannot wait.
The Key Message(s) to take home (and no apology for repeating some of the messages from last year)
- We have no Club & Youngs Park is just a building with a field – without the efforts of all our volunteer’s. That’s everyone across the Club and Youngs Park. It’s a massive team effort across the board; from the committee members, the managers/coaches, physio’s, players and all the volunteers who work behind the scenes to provide a great facility, great pitches and great hospitality is something for us all to be proud and the envy of many clubs.
- A massive thank you to every volunteer (it never seems enough, but without you we have no club or facility). However, without more volunteers coming forward to help run the club or Youngs Park we are in danger of stagnating which would be such as shame after what we have achieved.
- We are also especially grateful for the part our community business sponsors & advertisers play making much of what we do possible.
- We are on the verge of potentially securing major investment and realising the dream of 3G at Youngs Park.
- Our vision of “One Club, One Home, One Approach continues to guide us. With our growing pains, it’s even more important we all pull in the same direction as one club – “Orange & Blue”
Ian Potter
Chair & MD – Aylsham FC Ltd
Secretary’s Report
Aylsham FC (Ltd) have continued to grow as a club and have achieved historic and remarkable success on the field of play. Both the 1st and Veteran teams after long and hard fought seasons won their respective league titles. Many congratulations to the teams and the wider squads, there are too many players to single out, so I will not but well done to the management teams Lee Collier, Paul Belton, Asa Saunders, Matt Howe and Jon Covell. Matt Howe’s deserves individual recognition for outstanding commitment, endeavour and huge passion to manage the success of the Veterans! The club now plays in the Anglian Combination League Premier Division, which is the highest level of football in the club’s history, well done to all involved in that success.
The Adult section were regularly fielding five teams over the weekend and we have two strong under 18 teams. We were still attracting new players and growing but it can be a struggle. As a consequence, we have decided not to enter a team in the Sunday league this year, due to excessive demands on the same players. We have attracted a new women’s 11 aside team which I am confident will be very successful.
Thanks to Graham Gladden and Mick McCann we have a thriving walking football section with over 30+ players. I am very grateful for their management of the car parks on busy match days. Again, I am very grateful to the ground staff led by Jeff Lake, who have done a wonderful job in difficult climatic conditions.
The bar and kitchen have again provided hospitality, on a Saturday and Sunday, thank you to all the volunteers that made this happen. There would not be a club without your commitment.
The Youth Section have also gone from strength to strength expanding to 23 teams including girls and mixed youth teams plus mini kickers and wildcats. They too have achieved success on the field.The Women’s and Girls section are also developing into a strong and hopefully, sustainable group. Well done to them all.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers for the remarkable commitment and endeavour that you put in week after week. Whether managing or coaching or helping in the kitchen without you Aylsham FC would not be thriving. A special thank you to Becky Bates and Kelly Baker for their outstanding efforts behind the scenes. Difficult, arduous work but always completed to the highest standards.
A thriving football club is a remarkable achievement but also a logistical challenge as more young people want to play for us than we can cater for. As a consequence, we need to attract an even larger number of outstanding volunteers to support this growth but as you are all aware that is a much more difficult a task to achieve in reality. We are turning away potential youth players on a regular basis, so this is something, collectively, we need to resolve.
I would like to publicly thank our Chairperson, Ian Potter, for all his hard work behind the scenes. His endeavours in acquiring substantial grants to improve our facility are significant and through his endeavours, hopefully, a new 3G pitch coming soon.
The club is in a strong position due to the commitment and hard work of you all, we have a sound financial base, a clear vision of the way a head with a comprehensive three to five year business plan and a small team to deliver on those aspirations. We are in the process of developing a ‘football development’ plan which is separate to the business plan, so there is a pathway for all players, coaches and managers within the club.
That said, times are changing and we need to change with it. We need to professionalise and run both Youngs Park and the football club as a business. Football is expensive and we need clear structures and systems that maintains and grows our offer. That is my big challenge for the next few years utilising Youngs Park to its full potential, generating more income and ploughing that back into the facility and Aylsham FC, in a transparent way.
In concluding my second annual report, I would like to thank our sponsors, advertisers, supporters and members of the Executive Committee for their continued support, without which I could not be doing this role now or in the future.
For the coming season, I wish all players, club officials, match officials and spectators a safe, enjoyable, and successful season.
Graham Grant
Club Secretary
Treasurer’s Report
As the football club emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, it remains in a strong financial position.
Total Income for the year was £55,161 (2021 – £36,453) and total expenditure of £46,783 (2021 – £25,498). This resulted in a surplus of £8,378 (2021 – £10,955).
Player subscriptions for the year covering both adult and youth totalled £28,605 (2021 -£26,497) and for the first time in three years, Aylsham FC was able to host its summer youth tournament albeit a scaled down version, which raised over £3,500 once tournament related expenditure has been deducted.
As the football club returned to a full playing season, pitch hire and training costs totalled £16,941 (2021 – £6,118, 2020 – £15,211). For the 2020/21 season, the pandemic seriously effected the number of competitive matches played and ACS Ltd (Youngs Park) did not charge teams training for the season, to support AFC. Year on year increases are based on the growth of teams and groups.
The club is again extremely grateful to its sponsors and advertisers. Kit sponsorship for 2022 was £12,800 and advertising boards raised £1,650.
As stated in the financial statements, it is the Club’s policy to hold reserves equivalent to twelve months normal operating costs. Any excess reserves above this are deemed to be held to fund future capital projects for the benefit of the Club, which include the hope of a 3G facilty at Youngs Park.
A copy of the approved financial statements will be made available
Duncan Fisher
Aylsham FC