At the Fans Forum we held on 26 January, supporters were given financial information to help them gain an insight into the income and expenditure of running a football club at our level of the football pyramid. It was the first time the board of Grays Athletic FC had ever shared this level of detail, which reflects our new status as a community-owned, transparent and outward-looking, football club.

For those who were not able to attend the Forum the following is a summary of the presentation and shows the levels of income and expenditure we would expect, based on fielding a team in the Bostik North Division, which we hope would be competitive in the top half of the table.
The figures are expressed on a weekly basis over a 40-week football season.

PER WEEK OVER 40 WEEKS

INCOME
Paying attendances £750
Fundraising £600
Company/FA and personal sponsorship £600
Advertising – ground and programme £200
Membership fees £100
TOTAL £2250

PER WEEK OVER 40 WEEKS

EXPENDITURE
Players/management £2000
Ground and pitch hire £650
Kits and footballs £150
Match officials, boardroom, food £150
League/Cup fees, sundries £50
TOTAL £3000

GAP between income and expenditure £750
Sale of Community Shares £250
GAP AFTER SHARE PURCHASES £500 (£20,000 PER SEASON)

This shows that based on the level of income we are currently generating, we would expect to be about £500 a week, or £20,000 a season, short of the amount required to enable us to compete towards the top of the Division.

As we said at the Forum, your board of directors is very well aware as to how difficult it is to be competitive in this Division without our own home, where we would be able to generate funds to help us be self-supporting.

News on our future is expected over the coming months. Meanwhile, we need all the help we can get from our shareholders and businesses in the area, to enable us to plan for the next couple of seasons, during which we hope to secure our relocation back to Grays.

Membership income, the purchase of community shares, contributions to the 12th Man Scheme, buying Thurrock Community Chest tickets, making purchases via the internet using “Easyfundraising” are all important ways of raising funds for your club, as well as attending our games and club functions.

If you can persuade friends, family and work colleagues to get involved, our future is assured. Without your support, we will flounder and ultimately, fail.

It’s YOUR club, OUR future and YOUR choice.