Hethersett Athletic

The business plan discusses ways in which companies can become involved with the club through sponsorship and also what we can in return offer our sponsors.

Included in this pack are a number of key documents which we feel are relevant to our sponsorship appeal. The club also has an extensive development plan, which again is available on our internet site.

This document is split into four sections as follows:

Section A: The Club

Section B: Aims and Constitution

Section C: Codes of Conduct

Section D: The Sponsorship

Peter Steward - Club Chairman November 2006.

SECTION A - THE CLUB

The aim of Hethersett Athletic Football Club is to provide football for both sexes and for all ages.

At the present time the club runs 15 teams. This includes three men's sides, a women's side, two girls' teams and nine youth teams. We provide football for ages from eight to adult.

This enables over 200 footballers of all ages and both sexes to play organised sport for the club.

Our club policy gives first call to those living in the village of Hethersett or the surrounding catchment area or those attending schools in the village (these at present number four - Hethersett Woodside First School, Hethersett Middle School, Hethersett High School and the independent Hethersett Old Hall School).

In 2003 the club became one of only two in Norfolk and 100 in the country to be awarded the prestigious National Football Association Community Charter award which recognises the work within the community with particular emphasis on providing youth soccer opportunities.

This award came close on the heels of the award of National FA Charter Standard status the previous year. In addition numerous trophies have been won by teams over the past 12 years. These are noted on our official internet site.

Our immediate aim is to start a fourth men's team - this time to play in Saturday soccer. Our main long term aim is to have our own pitch and clubhouse. Certainly we feel that the large village of Hethersett could sustain such amenities. As well as playing in the village we also utilise the excellent facilities at Easton College.

Hethersett Athletic has come a considerable distance since it started with one boys' team in 1991. We still have a long way to go, however, and are now actively seeking sponsors who want to become part of our club.

Hethersett is a large village (population just over 6,000) six miles south of the city of Norwich which has a population of over 150,000 people.

Hethersett Athletic (originally known as Hethersett Jubilee) was the brainchild of Mel Perkins. Mel is well known in local sporting circles and has been connected with the club ever since and today is secretary and treasurer.

The club is run by a main committee consisting of a chair, vice-chair, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer and representatives of each of the 12 teams. We also have a number of other officers who deal with marketing, promotions, schools, referees, volunteers and child protection amongst other matters.

Committee meetings are held monthly at Park Farm Hotel with the annual meeting in July or August. The club presentation events are held in May. At the present time these include a meal and presentation evening for the adult teams and a youth funday for the younger teams.

Hethersett Athletic has the ability to become one of the top clubs in Norfolk football. We are asking you to become part of our dream

SECTION B - AIMS and CONSTITUTION

Club Constitution

The following constitution can only be changed by a vote of two-thirds of those present at either the annual general meeting or at an extraordinary General Meeting

NAME

The name of the club shall be Hethersett Athletic Football Club

AFFILIATION

The club is fully affiliated to Norfolk County Football Association

AIMS

The aims of the club shall be to provide opportunities for local inhabitants of any age or gender to take part in football activities as required by demand, with the emphasis on youth teams. The club will seek to compete at the highest possible level and will endeavour to facilitate the provision of the best playing amenities and equipment available to us, in line with the growth of sport in Hethersett.

MEMBERSHIP

Club membership shall be open to all inhabitants within the village of Hethersett and the normal catchment area of the village schools, subject to maximum limits defined by leagues.

Club officers or team officials shall not actively recruit outside that catchment area except where insufficient numbers can be attracted from within the catchment area to honour commitments.

Requests for membership from outside the catchment area can be considered on their merits by club officers or team officials. Once granted membership such an applicant will be able to continue membership without further request except for disciplinary reasons.

VOTING

Each member will be entitled to one vote at any General Meeting of the club or any team meeting for which he/she is a member.

For members aged under-16 their vote will be passed to a parent with similar voting rights.

At closed meetings of the Club committee each elected officer, co-opted member and team delegate (one per team) is entitled to one vote with the Chairman having an additional casting vote in the event of a tie.

At meetings of a Team Committee each elected member is entitled to one vote with the Team Manager having an additional casting vote in the event of a tie.

OFFICERS

The following officers shall be elected by majority vote at the Annual General Meeting and shall form the management committee of the club:- Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Marketing Officer, Child Protection Officer, Development Officer and Football Development Officer. The posts may be combined as appropriate. Other posts may be created by a majority vote at an Annual General Meeting. Members may be co-opted onto the Club Committee by majority vote at a Club Committee meeting.

A Development Group will consist of the above officers and will also have the power to co-opt additional members where appropriate.

COMMITTEE

The committee shall consist of the elected officers plus the team managers (or appointed deputy) of each participating team.

TEAM OFFICIALS

The team manager, and other team officials as required, shall be elected annually by the members of that team.

MEETINGS

The club shall hold an Annual General Meeting between June and August each year. All members shall receive 14 days notice of the Annual General Meeting. Other meetings shall be on an "as required" basis. Club members (or parents if members are Under-16) may call a General Meeting subject to a minimum of four such members notifying the secretary. Committee meetings will be held at regular intervals throughout the year.

DUTIES

The Chairman shall carry out the following responsibilities:-

· Be a figure-head for the Club

· Attend official functions as required

· Call and chair meetings in line with the constitution

The Vice-Chairman shall carry out the following responsibilities:-

· Support other officers as appropriate

· Deputise for the chair as required

The Secretary shall carry out the following responsibilities

· All correspondence with Football Authorities and Leagues.

· Arrangements for facility hire

· Control and maintenance of centrally held club equipment

· Confirmation of fixtures, results, match cards and forms

· Arrangements for Insurance

· Co-ordination of press reports as required by team managers

· Maintenance of club records and statistics

The Assistant Secretary shall carry out the following responsibilities

· All correspondence not specified in the Secretary's responsibilities

· Arrangements for and minutes of meetings

The Treasurer shall carry out the following responsibilities

· Maintenance of records of all receipts and payments

· Honouring all invoices received

· Preparing end of year accounts for review at the Annual General Meeting.

Team Managers (or other appointed officials) shall carry out the following responsibilities:-

· Honour fixtures as required by competition organisers

· Select players and inform them of arrangements

· Collect fees as appropriate, maintain records and pass moneys to the club treasurer on a regular basis

· Complete match cards and pass to club secretary in time for deadlines to be met.

FINANCE

All funds relating to the club shall be maintained by the club treasurer and bank accounts opened as appropriate.

Funds raised specifically by individual teams may be earmarked within the accounts to be at the disposal of those teams at a later date.

Bank mandates shall be maintained to allow cheques and payments to be signed by the treasurer and any one of the other club officers.

All monies collected by club or team officers must be passed to the Treasurer with details within 14 days of collection.

No individual team or person may spend over £50 on a single item without the permission of the club committee or, in an emergency, the permission of club officers.

10% of money raised by individual fund-raising should go to general club funds. This does not include money raised from subscriptions, match and training fees.

In the event of the Club being wound-up the Officers shall ensure that, after payment of all debts of the Club, any surplus assets are transferred only to another Club, a Competition, a County Association or the Football Association, the exact disposal to be agreed at a General Meeting of the Club.

DISCIPLINE/CODES OF CONDUCT

Club members, officials and parents/supporters must conduct themselves at all times both on and off the field in a manner which does not bring the club into disrepute. Anyone failing to do so may be subject to disciplinary action, including suspension or exclusion, by the club committee.

The club has codes of conduct for players, supporters, officials, managers and coaches and these must be adhered to at all times. All codes of conduct are published on the club's web site at www.hethersettathletic.org.uk.

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

The club has appointed a Child Protection Officer and adopted the Norfolk County FA child protection policy - copies of which are available separately.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Any amendments to this constitution shall require the consent of two-thirds of the members at a General Meeting.

The above constitution was adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 7th August, 1998.

Amended at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 11th November, 1999

Amended at the Annual General Meeting 17th August, 2000

Amended at the Annual General Meeting 19th July, 2001

Amended at the Extraordinary General Meeting 11th October, 2001

Amended at the Extraordinary General Meeting 7th February 2002

Amended at the Annual General Meeting 18th July 2002

Section C - Codes of Conduct

Hethersett Athletic has codes of conduct for players, coaches, managers, club officials and even spectators. Copies of these are available on the club's official web site. Below is an example of these codes. The example is the codes of conduct for players.

Hethersett Athletic prides itself on the behaviour of its players, coaches and managers. The following codes of conduct are designed to ensure that we continue to be held in high regard in local football circles and conform to the club’s aims of providing football for all ages in a friendly and supportive environment with the emphasis on teamwork.

The club’s Mission Statement is as follows:

“We aim to encourage and promote the development of football within the community of Hethersett, with an emphasis on youth teams.

“The club will strive to provide an opportunity for players of both sexes to participate in football at all age levels. The Club will seek to compete at the highest possible level.

“We will endeavour to facilitate the provision of the best playing amenities and equipment available to us, in line with growth of sport in Hethersett.”

The following is the club’s adopted codes of conduct for players: It is designed to ensure that the club’s reputation is enhanced and that players enjoy their football.

Code 1:

All players will at all times conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike and reasonable manner. Whilst playing football they will be aware of the fact that they are representatives of the whole Hethersett Athletic Club and the club expects high standards of behaviour.

Code 2:

Bad behaviour from players will not be tolerated. This includes cheating, time wasting, verbal abuse, racial abuse, abuse of officials, feigning injury, kicking the ball away, insulting other players or teammates and insulting or abusing the referee. Fighting, spitting, foul language, discouraging fellow players and threatening behaviour will not be accepted at any time. Any players guilty of serious breaches of the above will have their club registration cancelled. This action will be at the discretion of the team manager/coach and/or club committee.

Code 3:

Players are encouraged by the club to always abide by the rules of football, to accept all decisions however much they may disagree with them, to be honest, to show consideration for both their own teammates and the opposition, to show concern and help injured players and to always be sporting.

Code 4

Players will be expected to look after club equipment at all times. They will also be expected to help out by putting up nets, corner flags and undertaking other duties required of them by the manager/coach.

Code 5

Players will be expected to turn up to matches with clean kit and clean football boots. Failure to do so reflects badly on the individual, the team and the club as a whole. The managers/coaches will retain the right to drop players who transgress this code. Remember TAKE A PRIDE IN YOUR APPEARANCE.

Code 6

It is the players responsibility to turn up for matches on time, to turn up at meeting points for away games on time and to turn up with the necessary equipment for the game. Players turning up for matches after the designated time can be either named as substitute or dropped from the team at the discretion of the manager/coach

Code 7

It is the players responsibility to pay any signing-on fees/match fees as levied by their individual teams. Failure to do so on time could result in the player being dropped or excluded from subsequent fixtures until payment has been made in full. Any players who have difficulty in meeting fees should speak in confidence to either their team manager/coach or the club treasurer or secretary.

Code 8

The team manager/coach is responsible for selecting the team and he/she will not enter into any discussion with players regarding this selection unless he/she chooses to do so.

Code 9

Any player failing to turn up for a match, having been selected and informed of his/her selection, who does not have an acceptable reason and who has not contacted the manager/coach before the game will risk not being considered for the following week’s game. Acceptable reasons include injury and illness. Leaving such a player out will be at the discretion of the manager/coach.

Code 10

Players, whenever possible, are expected to attend training sessions organised by their team. If unable to do so they should inform their manager/coach as soon as possible.

Code 11

Players unavailable for selection should inform their team manager/coach as soon as possible. It is not acceptable to pull out on the day of a game unless this is through a new injury or illness. Early notice helps managers/coaches with their arrangements.

SECTION D - THE SPONSORSHIP

Hethersett is one of the fastest growing clubs in Norfolk. Ultimately our aim is to have our own ground and to vastly improve the football facilities in the village.

To do this will take a considerable amount of time, effort and finance. We are therefore actively looking for sponsors willing to join us and become part of the club.

Sponsorship is very much a two way process. We want our supporters to feel that they are truly part of the club and to this end we have drawn up a statement of support which is as follows:

In return for sponsorship we will undertake to:

· Promote the sponsors' name through internal documents including headed notepaper and an internal club newsletter.

· Promote the sponsors name via an official Web site at www.hethersettathletic.org.uk.

· Encourage club members to use the sponsors goods and services and generally promote the sponsors' name wherever and whenever possible.

· Obtain high profile Media coverage (e.g presentation of awards and articles throughout the season). This includes local publications such as the parish magazine.

· Provide Press coverage of the club as a whole during the season.

· Invite sponsors to high profile club events such as presentation evenings, annual meetings, social events etc.

· Underline that sponsors will be supporting both youth and sport in a large village and be associated with one of the fastest developing football clubs in Norfolk.

· Prominently display an advertising board at home matches, provided by the sponsors to any design they wish.

· Purchase goods associated with the sponsors' name.

Hethersett Athletic has the ability to become one of the top football clubs in Norfolk. By sponsoring our club you will help us to achieve this aim and promote the sport and in return we will promote your products whenever and wherever possible.