1. Name
The unincorporated association shall be called Aldershot Town FC Supporters Club
2. Definitions
‘Byelaws’ – the Constitution and Byelaws herein set out, as altered from time to time in accordance with Byelaw 9.
‘Executive Committee’ – the Supporters Club committee from time to time
‘Football Club’ – Aldershot Town Football Club
‘Members’ – Fully paid-up Members of Aldershot Town FC Supporters Club
‘Membership Secretary’ – the Membership Secretary of the Supporters Club from time to time as appointed by the Executive Committee pursuant to Byelaw 14.
‘Requisite Majority’ – a majority in number of Members who are present and entitled to vote.
‘Secretary’ – the Secretary of the Supporters Club from time to time as appointed by the Executive Committee pursuant to Byelaw 14.
‘Supporters Club’ – Aldershot Town FC Supporters Club
3. Objects
The objects of Aldershot Town FC Supporters Club will be:
- To encourage and promote friendship amongst the members through provision of social events, mutual support and joint aid.
- To promote sound communication and understanding between the Supporters Club and the Football Club.
- To support the Football Club in their aims and objectives
4. Equal Opportunities
The Supporters Club will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age.
5. Membership
5.1 Membership is open to any fully paid-up Member, who supports the objects of the Supporters Club
5.2 Members under the age of 18 years need to have the prior approval of a Parent or Guardian.
5.3 Membership will begin as soon as the membership form and first annual payment has been received.
5.4 There will be an annual membership fee, the cost of which will be reviewed annually, approved at the Annual General Meeting and will be payable by all Members. Any Member who does not pay their renewal fee will be contacted by the Membership Secretary to advise of non-payment and a reminder that membership lapses until the annual membership fee is paid.
5.5 Members may resign at any time in writing to the Secretary.
5.6 A list of all members will be kept by the Membership Secretary.
5.7 Membership shall cease with effect from whichever shall be the earlier of the date on which the Secretary receives the resignation of the Member in writing, the date he/she ceases to be a Member due to non-payment of Membership fees pursuant to Byelaw 6 hereof, or on the date of expulsion pursuant to Byelaw 8 hereof.
6. Membership Fees
6.1 The annual membership fee shall be such sum as approved by Members in General Meeting.
6.2 Membership fees shall be due on such date in each year as shall be approved by Members in General Meeting.
6.3 In the event of any Member failing to make full and timely payment of an annual membership fee, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to suspend that Member from participating in the Supporter’s Club affairs for such time as the membership fee or any part of it, remains outstanding.
6.4 During the period of any such suspension, the relevant Member shall not be entitled to any rights or privileges attaching to Membership of the Supporters Club including, but not limited to, exercising votes at any meeting of Members or, if relevant, of the Executive Committee.
7. Management
7.1 The Supporters Club shall be managed by an Executive Committee of no less than 6 and no more than 10 Members. The Executive Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting in each year, and, subject to termination of office by resignation or otherwise, shall remain in office until their successors are elected at a subsequent General Meeting or Special General Meeting following their election.
7.2 Nominations for election to the Executive Committee should be supported by a resume of no more than 50 words as to their suitability for the position. Potential applicants will also need to be able to give a full commitment during their term of office.
7.3 Up to 2 additional members may be co-opted onto the Executive committee at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
8. Expulsion
8.1 The Executive Committee shall have the power to expel any member who shall offend against the Constitution or whose conduct shall, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, render him/her unfit for membership of the Supporters Club.
8.2 Any offensive behaviour, including racist, sexist or inflammatory remarks, will not be permitted. Any Member behaving in an offensive way or breaking the Equal Opportunities Policy set out in Byelaw 4 herein may be asked not to attend further meetings or to resign from the Supporters Club.
8.3 Before any such Member is expelled, the Secretary shall give the Member not less than seven days’ written notice to attend a meeting of the Executive Committee and shall inform of the complaints made. No Member shall be expelled without first having an opportunity of appearing before the Executive Committee and answering complaints made, and at least two thirds of the Executive Committee then present vote in favour of expulsion.
9. Alteration of Constitution and Byelaws
The Executive Committee shall have the power to alter the Constitution and Byelaws, but no such alteration shall take effect until it has been approved by at least two thirds of the Members present at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting of the Supporters Club convened for the purpose.
10. Rules
10.1 The Executive Committee shall have the power to make Rules for regulating the conduct and affairs of the Supporters Club. provided the same are not inconsistent with these Byelaws.
10.2 Such Rules should be set out in minutes by the Secretary and shall be binding on all members.
11. Annual General Meetings
11.1 An Annual General Meeting of the Supporters Club shall be held every year, not later than 30th June in each year, to transact the following business:
11.1.1 to receive and, if approved, to adopt a statement of the Supporters Club accounts to the end of the preceding year
11.1.2 to consider and, if approved, sanction and confirm any duly made alteration of the Byelaws
11.1.3 to appoint the members of the Executive Committee
11.1.4 to deal with any matter which the Executive Committee wishes to bring before the Members and receive suggestions from Members for consideration by the Executive Committee.
11.2 Notice convening the Annual General Meeting will be sent to the Members together with a copy of the Accounts and of any resolutions to be considered not less than 21 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
12 Special General Meetings
12.1 A Special General Meeting may be convened at any time by the majority of the Executive Committee or by at least 10 other Members, and shall be convened within 21 days from receipt of a written request to the Chairman or Secretary specifying the object of the meeting, which should be for any of the following purposes:
12.1.1 to consider and, if approved, sanction and confirm any duly made alterations of the Byelaws
12.1.2 to deal with any special matter which the Executive Committee may desire to bring before the members.
12.1.3 to remove any member or members of the Executive Committee from office and to fill any vacancy or vacancies caused by such removal.
12.1.4 to deal with any special matter which the members requiring the meeting may desire to place before the Supporters Club
12.2 Notice convening a Special General Meeting shall be sent to members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
13. Proceedings of Annual General and Special General Meetings
13.1 No business shall be transacted at any Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting unless at least 10 members are present.
13.1.1 In the event of an individual Member being unable to attend an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting, that Member can nominate another Member or the Chairman as a proxy to vote on their behalf should they require. This would be by completion of an original signed proxy form. The Proxy would need to be present at the meeting and would need to provide the original signed proxy form at the meeting.
13.2 Proceedings to vote in the committee at the Annual General Meeting where there are more than 10 candidates will be undertaken by a formal poll vote.
13.3 All resolutions or questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly and the meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree to. If a consensus cannot be reached a vote will be taken and a decision will be made based on the votes of the members present and pursuant to the Byelaws. If the number of votes cast on each side is equal, the chair of the meeting shall be entitled to a second or casting vote in addition to any other vote they may have.
13.4 A poll may be demanded:
13.4.1 by the Chairman
13.4.2 by at least 10 Members having the right to vote on the relevant resolution.
13.5 Unless a poll is duly demanded, a declaration by the Chairman as to the result, and an entry to that effect in the minutes of the meeting, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact.
13.6 At all Annual General Meetings and Special General Meetings, the Chairman of the Executive Committee shall preside. If the Chairman of the Executive Committee is not present within 15 minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the meeting shall choose its own Chairman, typically the Deputy Chairman or another Member of the Executive Committee.
14. Proceedings of Executive Committee
14.1 The Executive Committee shall elect its own Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, and any other officer it sees fit and regulate its own procedure.
14.1.1 The Officers’ roles are as follows:
- Chairman, who shall chair both General and Committee Meetings
- Vice-Chairman, who shall deputise for the Chairman in their absence
- Secretary, who shall be responsible for the taking of minutes and the distribution of all papers
- Membership Secretary, who shall be responsible for keeping records of members
- Treasurer who shall be responsible for maintaining accounts
14.1.2 In the event of an Officer standing down during the year a replacement will be elected by the next General Meeting of Members.
14.2 Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be called by the Chairman or the Secretary at least 6 times a year. Additional meetings may be called by the Chairman or any two members of the Executive Committee.
14.3 Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be convened by not less than 7 days’ notice in writing to the Executive Committee members.
14.4 A quorum shall be four members
14.5 Every Member shall have one vote on every question and in the case of equality, the Chairman (or other Member presiding at the meeting) shall have a second or casting vote.
14.6 The Secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of each meeting and details of those present. The minutes shall be read and confirmed at the next meeting
14.7 The Executive Committee may appoint sub-committees and delegate to them any of its powers, except those relating to the expulsion of members. Membership of any such sub-committee shall consist solely of members of the Executive Committee.
14.8 Any Executive Committee Member not attending 3 successive meetings without apology will be contacted by the Chairman and asked if they wish to resign.
14.9 Executive Committee meetings will be open to any Member of the Supporters Club wishing to attend, who may speak but not vote.
14.10 The Executive Committee shall not under any circumstances be entitled to obtain credit, borrow, grant guarantees or otherwise grant any pledges in name or on behalf of the Supporters Club.
14.11 In respect of official Executive Committee business, communication with Club Officials and Players shall only be made by the Chairman, or with the express authority of the Chairman.
With regards to ‘In With a Shot’ the Chairman authorises the In With a Shot Coordinator and/or Deputy to liaise with Mark Butler on a weekly basis as required for this competition.
14.12 We expect each Executive Committee member to show good behaviours and conduct whilst on official Committee Business including Club events, pre-match activities, and Committee meetings. In accordance with clause 8.2 of the constitution, any offensive behaviour will not be permitted. Should there be a complaint made against a Committee Member for any inappropriate activity, then it could result in expulsion from the Executive Committee. We will follow the same process laid down in Clause 8.3 of the Constitution to decide on the outcome.
15. Notices
15.1 Any communication may be served by the Supporters Club upon Members by sending it through the post and/or by e-mail at the addresses given by the Member on their membership form.
15.2 Any communication which requires to be served on the Supporters Club may be served by sending it through the post for the attention of the Supporters Club using the Football Club address, or by e-mail to [email protected]
15.3 Any communication served by post shall be deemed to have been served at the expiration of one week after it is posted and in proving such service, it shall be sufficient to prove the envelope containing the communication was properly addressed and posted.
16. Finances
16.1 An account will be maintained on behalf of the Association at a bank agreed by the Executive Committee. Three cheque signatories will be nominated by the Executive Committee (one to be the Treasurer). The signatories must not be related nor members of the same household.
16.2 All payments will be signed by two of the signatories.
- For cheque payments, the signatories will sign the cheque.
- For other payments (such as BACS payments, cash withdrawals, debit card payments or cash payments), a requisition note will be signed by two signatories, and held by the treasurer.
16.3 Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given at each meeting.
16.4 All money raised by or on behalf of the Supporters Club is only to be used to further the objects of the group, as specified in item 3 of this Constitution.
17. Dissolution
17.1 If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close the group it may call a Special General Meeting to do so. The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the group.
17.2 If it is agreed to dissolve the group, all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a local charitable organisation. The organisation will be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.
