Working Together with Houghton Regis Town Council

Houghton Regis Youth FC Club Constitution

FA Affiliation No GYD00134 

The Club Constitution - 01 November, 2009

1. NAME:

1.1 The Club shall be known as “Houghton Regis Youth Football Club.

2. OBJECT:

2.1 The club has been formed to promote the playing of football by all age groups, irrespective of ability, gender, ethnic origin and, where practical, disability, and to encourage the members above the older age group to continue their development with another appropriate club and to achieve the highest footballing level possible.

3. STATUS OF RULES:

3.1 These rules (the club rules) form a biding agreement between each member of the club, and the club.

4. AFFILIATED ASSOCIATION RULES & REGULATION:

4.1 The club shall have the status of an affiliated member club of “The Football Association” by its affiliation to/membership of “The Football Association” the rules & regulations of “The Football Association” and of the parent “County Association”, and any league or competition to which the club is affiliated for the time being shall be deemed to be incorporated into the club rules.

4.2 No alterations to the club rules shall be effective unless via a majority vote by the members at the AGM or an EGM so called for that purpose.

4.3 Any member wishing to call an EGM for any reason should first contact the club secretary who will in turn inform the said member of all criteria which must be meet before an EGM can be called.

5. CLUB MEMBERSHIP

5.1 The members of the club from time to time shall be those persons listed in the register of members (The Members Register), which shall be maintained by the club secretary.

5.2 Parents and/or Guardians of the members as listed on “The Members Register” shall also be considered members of the club.

5.3 Membership shall become effective upon an application name being entered into “The Membership Register”.

5.4 Election to Membership shall be at the sole discretion of the club committee.

5.5 In the event of a member’s resignation or expulsion, his or her name will be removed from “The Membership Registration”

5.6 For the purposes of clarification, Parent/Guardian shall mean any person who is legally considered the rightful Parent or Guardian of the member whose name appears on “The Members Register.

6. SUBSCRIPTIONS /FEES

6.1 An Annual subscription is payable by each member which shall be determined from time to time by the club committee to cover the costs associated such as registration of the member with “The Football Association”, pitch fees, ETC.

6.2 Fees shall not be repayable.

6.3 The committee may withhold/suspend the membership of members who do not comply with the above conditions for payment of fees. Should any member fall into arrears by any more than 4 games he/she shall no longer be considered for participation in any club activities until such time as the arrears are paid, except for extenuating circumstances for which the committee has been made aware.

6.4 It will be the policy of Houghton Regis Youth FC to notify the relevant County Football Association and The Football Association, in line with their rules, of any members’ failure to clear any outstanding fees or other debts owing to the club.

7. SPONSORSHIP

7.1 Any sponsorship obtained by Houghton Regis Youth FC shall be paid into the respective club bank account and shall be used solely for the benefit of the playing members in the form of equipment, facilities ETC.

7.2 Sponsorship may also be used to cover any expenses of the teams (I.E tours ETC), if it is specifically obtained for this purpose, however this is only at the discretion and agreement of the committee. Should the sponsorship be used for this purpose then the monies will be paid into the respective club bank account and claimed back via the club.

7.3 No claim for monies from the club bank account will be entertained unless fully supported by all appropriate documentation, receipts ETC.

7.4 Should any member or individual associated with a particular team obtain sponsorship then this sponsorship will in the first instance be made
available to that team. However agreement must be obtained from the committee to ensure that any purchase is appropriate.

8. PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT. NO PURCHASES ARE TO BE MADE ON BEHALF OF THE CLUB UNLESS:

8.1 The committee is in agreement that such purchases can be made, are proven to be necessary for the benefit of the members of the club.

8.2 Any sponsorship funds or other monies provided have cleared and are available from the club bank account.

9. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS

9.1 All members of the club shall abide by the rules laid down by the clubs official Code of Conduct, which is issued to each new member upon registration.

9.2 The following procedures will be adopted where allegations about a member conduct, whether supporting or representing the club, is detrimental to the best interests of the club.

9.2.1 Allegations about any member, made to any other member, shall be brought to the attention of the committee, who shall decide on what
course of action should be followed.

9.2.2 For minor problems, the Chairman and Secretary will approach the member, if the member wishes the matter to be discussed at the
next regular committee meeting where upon the incident will be recorded within the minutes and the course of action, if any, will be decided.

9.2.3 For matters of a more serious nature, or the reoccurrence o f minor problems, a date will be fixed by the Club Secretary for a meeting of the full committee to discuss such further actions as necessary. The decision of the committee shall be communicated to the member within three working days of their decision.

9.3 The club committee shall have the power to expel a member when in the opinion of the full committee it would not be in the interest of the club for them to remain a member of the club.

9.4 There shall be no appeal procedure.

9.5 Any member who resigns or is expelled shall not be entitled to claim any, or a share of any, of the clubs property or assets.

9.6 Any member who resigns or is expelled shall return any of the clubs property or assets, within 5 working days of their resignation or expulsion. Any ex-member who does not, or refuses to, return club property or assets the hold, will be held accountable.

10. COMMITTEE

10.1 The duly elected committee of the club shall manage the affairs of the club and have the power to raise funds and to invite and receive grants,
donations and other contributions.

10.2 The committee shall exercise the power given to it under the rules of its election and shall consist of the following: -

• Honorary Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Child Welfare Officer, Charter Standard Officer, All Managers, and two other parent members.
• The treasurer will be independent of the committee.

10.3 The members at the AGM of the club shall elect all committee members.

10.4 The committee members shall hold office for three years, and each position shall be open for nomination and election at the AGM. Committee members may re -stand for election of any post on the committee.

10.5 The club committee has the discretion to nominate, for election, a club president and a club vice president, as it sees fit.

10.6 The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the committee at which they are present in their absence the committee shall elect a chairman for that meeting only.

10.7 The Secretary shall take minutes of all meetings of the committee and in his/her absence the meeting shall appoint one of their numbers to take
minutes of that meeting only.

10.8 The Treasurer shall keep an accurate and proper account of the club finances as will enable him/her to produce to the committee, upon reasonable notice, a full and accurate report and statement concerning the said finances.

10.9 Prior to the AGM, the Treasurer will arrange for the full accounts to be audited by an independent body and will present, to each committee member, a full statement prior to the AGM.

11. COMMITTEE MEETINGS

11.1 Meetings of the club committee shall take place nominally on a monthly basis, but at least every 6 weeks, at a time and date to be agreed by the committee members.

11.2 A Committee meeting shall take place as long as 51% of the committee is in attendance. For a Full Committee meeting to take place
ALL members of the committee must be present.

11.3 Any non-committee member wishing to attend such meetings must first contact the Chairman or Secretary of the club to seek permission.

11.4 All membership of the club committee is on a voluntary basis, and as such no one member can be brought to account for any decision the said committee makes on behalf of the club.

11.5 Any member who wishes to dispute a decision made by the committee has to abide by the following conditions.

11.5.1 A member may call an EGM by enlisting the names and support of 51% of the club membership, and submitting this to the club Secretary
with the reason for the meeting.

11.5.2 The Secretary will in turn notify the committee and all members of the club of the time, date and place of the said meeting, which will be convened at the earliest convenience.

12. AGM

12.1 A General meeting of the club (known as the Annual General Meeting) will be held annually upon a date a time to be fixed by the committee. Notice of the date and time of the AGM shall be notified to the members at least 14 days prior to said meeting

12.2 The purpose of the AGM is to:

12.2.1 Receive a report of the activities of the club over the previous year.

12.2.2 Receive a report of the club finances over the previous year.

12.2.3 Elect the members of the club committee

12.2.4 Consider any other business.

12.3 Nominations for the election of members as club committee members shall be made by being proposed and seconded by members, both of who must be existing club members, to the Secretary not less than 7 days prior to the AGM. Notice of any resolutions to be proposed at the AGM shall be given in writing to the club Secretary not less than 7 days before the meeting.

13. TEAM MANAGER

13.1 The team manager of every participating club team shall be solely responsible for the selection of registered players and team players on a match basis, and will:

13.1.1 Notify by whatever means all concerned of the arrangements for playing matches, and shall notify the league of match results (in
accordance with League Rules in which the said team are playing).

13.1.2 Represent the club at league meetings as required.

13.1.3 Report team matters to the club committee.

13.1.4 At all times be aware for the safety and well being of all players in his/her charge.

13.1.5 Attend committee meetings as required so as to report on team and member's issues. None attendance will result in a £10 club fine being issued against the Team Manager.

13.2 Each team manager, whilst relying on the advice of any other team or club official, will still assume full responsibility for all matters appertaining to the welfare and behaviour of all youth players while in his/her charge.

13.3 The team manager shall not be subject to consensus of the committee, players, parents or any club member or official in the matter appertaining to team selection or performance.

13.4 The team manager can elect to assign another person to assist him/her in the team management. However, unless the said person has undergone the appropriate checking process procedure and relevant training, the team manager shall not leave the team solely under the said person’s supervision.

13.5 The team manager will be designated to hold and control the clubs equipment necessary for the execution of his position as team manager. All
equipment however shall remain the property of the club, and shall be returned to the club intact and in good condition (subject to normal wear and tear).

13.6 The committee must first sanction ALL equipment purchases in the name of the club. Failure to obtain this sanction may result in the club refusing to pay for the said purchase.

14. FINANCES

14.1 All bank accounts associated with the club shall be opened and maintained in the name of the club, and shall be known as “The Club Accounts”. Designated account signatories shall be the club Chairman, the club Treasurer, and one other member of the committee.

14.2 No sum shall be drawn from the club accounts except by cheque signed by at least two of the three designated signatories.

14.3 All monies payable to the club shall be received by the club Treasurer and deposited into the appropriate account.14.4 The income and assets of the club (the club property) shall be applied solely in the furtherance of the objects of the club.

14.5 Any misappropriating of the club finances may result in criminal charges dependent on the nature and extent of the offence.

15. DISSOLUTION

15.1 A resolution to dissolve the club shall only be proposed at a General Meeting, having followed the appropriate rules, and shall be carried by a majority vote of at least three quarters of the membership of the club.

15.2 The dissolution of the club shall take place effect from the date of resolution, and the members of the club committee at that time shall be responsible for winding up the assets and liabilities of the club.

15.3 Any surplus assets remaining after discharge of the debts and liabilities of the club shall be donated to a Sporting Charity to be determined and agreed at the general meeting held for the purpose of the dissolution of the club.

16. CHANGES TO CONSTITUTION

16.1 Changes to this constitution of Houghton Regis Youth FC may only take place at an AGM or EGM, having received a majority vote.