NAME
The club shall be called Toddington Rovers FC (the Club)
OBJECTS
The objective of the Club shall be to arrange the coaching of and matches of association football together with social activities for its members.
STATUS OF CONSTITUTION
These rules (the Club Constitution) form a binding agreement between each member of the Club.
RULES & REGULATIONS
The Club shall have the status of an Affiliated Member Club of The Football Association by virtue of its membership of The Bedfordshire Football Association. The Rules and Regulations of The Football Association Limited and Football Association or any League or Competition to which the Club is affiliated for the time being shall be deemed to be incorporated into the Club rules.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The members of the Club from time to time shall be those persons listed in the register of members, which shall be maintained by the Subscriptions Secretary.
Any person who wishes to be a member must apply using a Membership Application Form and deliver it to the Club. Election to membership shall be at the sole discretion of the Club Committee. Membership shall become effective upon an applicants name being entered into the Membership Register and their membership fee being received.
In the event of a member’s resignation or expulsion, his or her name shall be removed from the Membership Register.
The Association or an Affiliated Association shall be given access to the Membership Register on demand.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE
The Club Committee shall determine an annual fee payable by each member from time to time. Any fee shall be payable with the application for membership and annually by each member. Fees may be made by instalments as agreed by the Club Committee and membership will deem to commence on first payment however membership will deem to have lapsed if payment is 56 days after due instalment date. Instalment dates will be decided by the Club Committee annually. Fees shall not be repayable unless membership is refused by the Club Committee.
The Club Committee shall have the authority to levy further subscriptions from members as are reasonably necessary to fulfil the objects of the Club.
The Club Committee will consider the payment of any fines incurred by a member’s actions to be the responsibility of the member.
RESIGNATION AND EXPULSION
A member shall cease to be a member of the Club if, and from the date on which, he gives notice to the Club Committee of his resignation. A member whose annual membership fee or further subscription is more than two months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned.
The Club Committee shall have the power to expel a member when, in their opinion, it would not be in the interests of the Club for him to remain a member. There shall be no appeal procedures.
A member who resigns, or is expelled shall not be entitled to claim any, or a share of any, of the Club Property.
Any subscription refund will be at the full discretion of the Club Committee.
CLUB COMMITTEE
The Club Committee consists of Club Officers performing leadership roles, Supporting Officers and Team Representatives.
For the avoidance of doubt, a Club Officer role is critical to the leadership, maintenance and day-to-day running of the football club and engagement with all relevant bodies including the FA, local leagues, the Parish Council, local schools and the wider community. The Club Officers are voted for and appointed at the AGM and hold office from the date of appointment until the next AGM unless otherwise resolved at a Special General Meeting and consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary & Treasurer.
Supporting Officers play a key role in supporting the Club Officers and achieving the goals of the Club. Some of these roles are mandated by the FA, so the Club could not function without them. The Supporting Officers are generally appointed at the AGM although can be changed by the Club Committee at any time depending on the needs of the Club. They should be proposed by one and seconded by another of the remaining Club Committee members and shall be appointed by a simple majority vote of the remaining Club Committee members. Generally these roles will include Charter Standard Officer, Child Welfare Officer, Subscriptions Secretary, Purchasing Officer, Sponsorship Officer, Social Secretary, Website & Social Media Secretary, Head Coach, Wildcats Officer (Girls Football Progression) and Minutes Secretary.
Team Representatives are those people who lead and train each of our football teams or assist in that role and support the goals of the Club. Every team is expected to send a Team Representative (at least one, but no more than two) to every Club Committee meeting.
Each Club Officer should sign on an annual basis a register of Pecuniary interest and declare any personal interest with regards to business or community groups where a conflict of interest could arise.
One person may not hold more than two positions of Club Officer or Supporting Officer at any one time. There is no limit on the length of time Club Officer or Supporting Officer can remain in post.
The Club Committee shall be responsible for the overall management of the affairs of the Club and shall agree the Financial Operating Framework of the Club. The Club Officers will prepare agendas, prepare motions of change and engage with the Club Committee for decision making upon such motions. Decisions of the Club Committee shall be made by a simple majority of those attending a Club Committee meeting. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the Club Committee Meeting shall have the casting vote.
Meetings of the Club Committee shall be chaired by one of the Club Officers. A minimum of three Club Officers and five Supporting Officers/Team Representatives are required to be in attendance (either in person or via mobile communication) in order for the meeting to be considered quorate. Decisions of the Club Committee at of meetings shall be recorded in minutes to be held by the Club Secretary.
Any member of the Club Committee may call a meeting of the Club Committee by giving not less than 7 days notice to all members of the Club Committee. The Club Committee shall not hold less than 9 meetings a year.
Save as provided for in the Rules and Regulations of The Association and the Affiliated Association, to which the Club is affiliated, the Club Committee shall have the power to decide all issues and disputes arising in respect of any issue concerning the Club Rules.
ANNUAL AND SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS
An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held in each year to:
Receive a report on the activities of the Club over the previous year
Receive a report of the Club’s Finances over the previous year
Elect the members of the Club Committee and consider any other business
Nominations for the election of members as Club Officers or as members of the Club Committee shall be made by the proposer and seconder, both of whom must be existing members of the Club, to the Club Secretary not less than 12 days before the AGM. Notice of any resolutions to be proposed at the AGM shall be given in writing to the Club Secretary not less than 12 days before the AGM.
A Special General Meeting (SGM) may be called at any time by the Club Committee and shall be called within 21 days of the receipt by the Club Secretary of a requisition signed by not less than 5 members stating the purposes for which the meeting is required and the resolutions proposed. Business at a SGM may be any business that may be transacted at an AGM.
The Club Secretary will produce a written notice of the date of the meeting together with an agenda of items to be discussed. This written notice shall be distributed to the members by the Club Member responsible for each team at least 14 days before the meeting.
The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 10 with no less than 6 being members of the Club Committee.
The Chairman or in his absence a member selected by the Club Committee shall take the chair. Each member present shall have one vote and resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority. In the event of an equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
The Club Secretary or in his absence a member of the Club Committee shall take minutes of the General Meeting and retain these with minutes of Club Committee meetings.
CLUB TEAMS
The Club Committee shall appoint a Club Member to be responsible for each of the Club’s football teams. The appointed member shall be responsible for managing the affairs of the team.
The appointed member shall present to the Club Committee at each meeting of the Club Committee a report of the activities of the team. In the event of their unavailability to attend a meeting the Club Member shall nominate a representative to report on the team in the appointed Club Members absence.
A Manager’s handbook produced by the Club details the responsibilities of the aforementioned Club Member appointed for each team and these responsibilities are deemed to form part of the Club Constitution.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
The Club fully supports the Football Association guidelines of Equal Opportunity and is committed to a policy of equal treatment of all members.
Equality of opportunity at the Club means that in all our activities we will not discriminate on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or disability.
It is a requirement of all members of whatever level of authority to abide and adhere to this general principle. Any complaint of discrimination will be investigated by the Club Committee and where found to be the case it will require that this practice ceases forthwith. Since discrimination in its many forms is against Club policy any offending members will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure.
CHILD PROTECTION
The Club has adopted and appointed in line with the recommended Football Association policy, a Child Welfare Officer, who has attended the FA Safeguard Children Workshop.
The officer is available at all times as and when needed
CODES OF CONDUCT
The Club has drawn up Codes of Conduct for Managers, Players, Parents and Supporters and these are deemed to form part of the club rules.
FINANCIAL OPERATING FRAMEWORK
A bank account shall be opened and maintained in the name of the Club (the Club Account).
The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be appointed as the authorised signatories in dealing with the bank on all matters including the signing rules for the Club Account.
The Treasurer and Secretary shall have signing authority over the Club Account.
Any secondary accounts established for interest earning purposes can only be done so with the approval of the Club Committee and are subject to the same rules regarding authorised signatories.
The Team Representatives are responsible for the collection of all members’ subscription payments in accordance with the agreed timescales. These should be passed initially to the Subscriptions Secretary for recording and then on to the Treasurer for depositing into the Club Account. All other cash/cheques payable to the Club shall be forwarded directly to the Treasurer and deposited into the Club Account. The Treasurer shall also monitor the Club Account for any incoming BACS payments and record and report these accordingly.
No sum shall be drawn from the Club Account except by cheque signed, or by electronic transfer approved, by one of the two designated signatories. Such payments can only be made in accordance with the following limits:
For goods and services (excl donations) with a value of £0.01-£500.00 where requested in writing by a Club Officer, Supporting Officer or Team Representative
– payment can be made by Treasurer/Secretary with no additional authorisation required
For goods and services (excl donations) with a value of £500.01-£2,500.00 where requested in writing by a Club Officer, Supporting Officer or Team Representative
– payment can be made by Treasurer/Secretary only with prior approval of all Club Officers
For goods and services with a value of £2,500.00+ and any donations where requested in writing by a Club Officer, Supporting Officer or Team Representative
– payment can be made by Treasurer/Secretary only with prior approval of Club Committee
On the rare occasion the Club is approached by another community group to make a donation this will be an agenda item for the next Committee Meeting and will be voted on by the Club Committee in the usual way. Committee members when casting their vote need to consider the merits of any application and balance the needs and goals of the Club against the support of others.
The income and the assets of the Club (the Club Property) shall be applied only in the furtherance of the objects of the Club.
The Treasurer shall prepare an annual Receipts & Payments Account in such a form as shall be acceptable to the Bedfordshire Football Association and this shall be submitted to them on request.
DISSOLUTION
A resolution to dissolve the Club shall only be proposed at a general Meeting and shall be carried by a majority of at least three-quarters of the members present.
The Dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the Club Committee shall be responsible for winding up the assets and liabilities of the Club.
Any surplus assets after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the Club may be disposed of in such other manner as the Members of the Club with the consent of the parent Association shall determine.