Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries board on collision course with Trust
CHERRIES' board of directors is on a collision course with a leading fans' group over plans to raise funds for a potential phoenix club.[LNB] The AFC Bournemouth Supporters' Trust has launched a donation scheme which it says would be used to form a new club should the current one go out of business.[LNB] They claim their Cherries Forever' fund would also be in place to acquire the future ownership of the club and to purchase Dean Court.[LNB] However, Cherries chiefs have moved swiftly to distance themselves from the initiative, labelling it as counter-productive and beyond belief.[LNB] In a terse statement, the club's owners have made it clear that supporters of any unofficial fundraising scheme would not be made welcome by this board.[LNB] The Supporters' Trust was originally set up in 2000 as the Community Mutual and lists its two main aims as to give fans a greater say in how the club is run and to raise money for Cherries.[LNB] Part of a statement issued by the Trust read: The AFCB ST wishes to promote the greatest possible success for the club and, therefore, urges fans to continue to purchase matchday and season tickets, club merchandise and support other fundraising initiatives that will benefit the club.[LNB] However, we all know that football finance can be a precarious undertaking for anyone and, therefore, the Trust is launching its own donation initiative, to be known as Cherries Forever, in order to secure the continuation of professional football at Bournemouth in the event of a future collapse.[LNB] The ST ran a fans' survey and it was fans that said that their number one priority was a phoenix fund. Building this initiative will be a long-term project.[LNB] Since its formation 10 years ago, the Supporters' Trust has had a bitter-sweet relationship with a series of club owners and, at one stage, it had representation on the board.[LNB] Part of a statement, issued today by Cherries director Steve Sly on behalf of the current board, read: It is the duty of the board to advise its supporters to think very carefully about donating to an unofficial website or, indeed, any other scheme that has not been sanctioned by the current board as an official AFCB fundraising initiative.[LNB] This unofficial venture is counter-productive and potentially damaging to your football club's stability, both on and off the pitch.[LNB] The progress being made is evident for all to see, so why these so-called supporters of this club choose to fundraise for another possible future entity is beyond belief.[LNB] The message is simple please support your club by turning up and backing Eddie and the lads wholeheartedly and joining in as many club initiatives of your choice.[LNB] However, if you wish to fundraise or rally support for other future pipe dreams then you will not be made welcome by this board or, indeed, the vast majority of AFCB supporters.[LNB] Statement issued by the AFC Bournemouth Supporters' Trust The AFC Bournemouth Supporters' Trust wishes to promote the greatest possible success for the club and, therefore, urges fans to continue to purchase matchday and season tickets, club merchandise and support other fundraising initiatives that will benefit the club.[LNB] However, we all know that football finance can be a precarious undertaking for anyone and, therefore, the AFCB Supporters Trust (ST) is launching its own donation initiative, to be known as Cherries Forever, in order to secure the continuation of professional football at Bournemouth in the event of a future collapse.[LNB] The ST ran a fans' survey and it was fans that said that their number one priority was a phoenix fund'. Building this initiative will be a long-term project. Ten per cent of all Supporters' Trust future membership fees received will go to the fund, plus income from other initiatives in the future.[LNB] The fund will only be available for use on one or more of the following three purposes acquiring the future ownership and direction of the club, purchase of the Dean Court stadium, helping to fund the club through any future administration and into a Phoenix Project' for restarting the club at the optimum level available if required.[LNB] This is not a policy against any AFCB board but purely to reach the ST objective of keeping professional football in the local area. We've been trying to contact the board for months to arrange a meeting to discuss, among other things, Cherries Forever, but they haven't called back.[LNB] Statement issued by the board of AFC Bournemouth We have recently been made aware of an unofficial fundraising website aimed at our fans financially supporting, amongst other things, a phoenix club'. It is not in the club's interest to give details or promote the name of this site for obvious reasons, but, for clarity, AFC Bournemouth's only official football website is www.afcb.co.uk The board and club management have a vision for future success and have launched various fundraising initiatives including supporting and taking part in the Don't Walk Alone' fans' initiative and we will continue to work hard in the coming weeks and months to try to finally rid the club of its legacy debt situation.[LNB] It is the duty of the board to advise its supporters to think very carefully about donating to an unofficial website or, indeed, any other scheme that has not been sanctioned by the current board as an official AFCB fundraising initiative.[LNB] The board would request that if the club's official fundraising efforts don't appeal to you as a fan, that you continue to turn up on matchdays as you have been doing, bring a friend, have a drink or a burger, buy a programme or a draw ticket but, most importantly, to cheer on the lads for the whole 90 minutes.[LNB] Every one of you doing some or all of this is playing a part, however big or small, and this will ultimately bring success to your club. Working as a splinter group outside of the current set-up, certainly will not.[LNB] This unofficial venture is counter-productive and potentially damaging to your football club's stability, both on and off the pitch.[LNB] The progress being made is evident for all to see, so why these so-called supporters of this club choose to fundraise for another possible future entity is beyond belief.[LNB] The message is simple please support your club by turning up and backing Eddie and the lads wholeheartedly and joining in as many club initiatives of your choice.[LNB] However, if you wish to fundraise or rally support for other future pipe dreams then you will not be made welcome by this board or, indeed, the vast majority of AFCB supporters![LNB]
