INTRODUCTION

In addition to having great parents, players, managers and Club Officials, there’s one other unavoidable ingredient to the successful running of a football club - and that’s money. As a Club we do not make a profit and almost all of our income is spent by the end of the financial year in April. Our finances are the responsibility of the Club’s Treasurer and we are required to have our end of year accounts independently audited and approved by the FA.

 

OUR INCOME

We have several streams of income including income from players, sponsorship deals and refreshment money. The income we receive from players is split into four elements: annual season subs, mid-week training, summer subs and additional activities.

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Season subs

Season subs makes up the largest source of annual income. Depending on your player’s age this can be anywhere from £60 - £135. If you have more than one player at the Club, siblings receive a 50% discount. Any new player (including during our summer recruitment campaign) benefits from our 4 week ‘try before you buy’ offer which allows the player / parents decide if they want to join the Club.

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• The annual subs pay for the following:

• Hire of Brooklands during the football season (September – end of May)

• FA affiliation fees

• MKDDL League entrance fees

• Player end of season trophy / awards

• Club insurance

• Referee fees

• Pitch fees (for older teams)

• Football kit (see also sponsorship)

• First Aid Kits

• Website & Online Database Fees

• FA Coaching Courses

• Training equipment, including balls, goals and line paint etc

 

Mid-week training

When your player starts playing in the MKDDL League, you will be invited to take part in mid-week training. We undertake this as Saturdays are match days and therefore it is important that players continue to learn and develop through training sessions. During the winter months (Sept – Mar), we take advantage of either the 3G pitch at Cedars School, or a facility in Heath & Reach . However, this additional cost is not included in the annual subs payment and you can expect to pay about £40 for these sessions. The good news is that, when light permits, we move mid-week training to the Vynes playing fields in Leighton Buzzard where we enjoy the light summer evenings on grass!

 

Summer subs

Your annual subs pay for the use of Brooklands during the football season (September to end of May). Because of the number of players we have in the Club, we decided last year to continue hiring the field during the months of June and July. This also enables us to keep everyone in one place including the running of our summer recruitment campaign. We normally request this small contribution in April. We pay less for Brooklands during the summer months as there are no football pitch markings on the field.

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Making payments

To make any payments, you can do so by cash, cheque or BACs (details below). Please ensure you only give money to a Club Official (eg Team Manager, Communications Manager), a Committee Member, or at the tea / coffee facilities at Stadium Brooklands. If you are paying by BACs, please ensure you use your players age group, followed by his or her surname, eg U11s Smith or ColtsGreen.  

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WOODSIDE FOOTBALL CLUB
Account No: 10988189
Sort Code: 20-03-18

 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

The Club’s annual subs pay for all league associated football matches, including any league organised cup competitions. It does not include any charges or fees associated if a team enters any other competitions which happen throughout the year. That’s not to say that you cannot enter a Leighton Woodside team into a competition or tournament, only that all the parents will need organise how to pay for it. You may of course want to organise other team events, such as team trip to Wembley to watch England. Again, the cost of these social events will be paid for by the parents.

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SPONSORSHIP

Our second biggest source of income is from sponsorship. When a team is mobilised at U7s, we encourage player’s parents to use their personal network to get a business to sponsor the team. This money is generally used to purchase players’ kits or training jackets. In return for the sponsorship, the business will have their logo or name printed on the team shirts. As a general rule, a sponsor will make a decision annually although we tend to find that a sponsor will want to commit to the team for several years. We are also actively seeking a Club sponsor who we can form a long term relationship with that benefits both the Club and the sponsor. If you hear or know of anyone or business that might be interested in sponsoring either a team or the Club, please let a Committee member know!

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PAYMENT OF FEES

Our charges represent excellent value for money and are set very competitively within the local area; we have not increased our annual subs fees for 5 years. This means that every penny counts and we rely heavily on parents making prompt payments at the start of the season (by the end of September unless your player is on a trial). However, we understand that finances can be tight at anytime of the year and for this reason we are flexible about receiving annual subs in part payments (a maximum of 4 spread across the first half of the season). To request a part payment, please speak to either your Team Manager or Communications Manager in the first instance. Any conversation will remain confidential and only the Team and Club Officials will know what the arrangement is.

 

NON PAYMENT OF SUBS

If you are experiencing difficulty paying or making a payment, please speak to us as soon as you can. If you don’t make a payment or don’t have a payment plan agreed before 31 October your player could be excluded from playing matches and training. This is something we want to avoid unless absolutely necessary.

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OUR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Each year at our Annual General Meeting, the Club’s Treasurer is required to give a detailed presentation about the Club’s finances and where your money has been spent. We would recommend that all parents attend the AGM (which is held annually in Quarter 1). However, you are more than welcome to ask for more detail about where your money goes by talking to any of the Club’s Committee members at any time.

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