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Playershare Strategy Introduction AFC Bournemouth is not a wealthy club and therefore it has to operate to a
very tight budget in order to survive. Its financial situation has been further
undermined by the collapse of the transfer market. Historically, since the
administration of 1997, the gap between costs and revenue has been made up
by transferring players; in the immediate future this is unlikely to prove
a viable option. Historically, AFC Bournemouth has been a club which has encouraged the development
of young players through its youth schemes and through taking other young players
on extended loan from the higher divisions in the football leagues. Playershare Ltd. was formed by a group of supporters who believe in the philosophy
of developing and encouraging young football talent, are committed to AFC Bournemouth’s
future and are prepared to provide financial assistance to the club in order
to allow it to compete in a very competitive and financially draining market
place by providing resources directly to the playing side of the club. Opportunities AFC Bournemouth has a growing reputation for its managerial and coaching talent
and its success in implementing a youth development structure the envy of
many clubs in the Nationwide, if not the Premier, League. The ethos at the
Club provides the ideal environment for raw talent to be nurtured, some of
whom will blossom into young professionals with a rewarding career ahead
of them. Producing young football talent can be very rewarding but it does
require significant investment, not necessarily in monetary terms but also
in human resources spent organising, coaching and counselling young players[A1]
. Ultimately, AFCB looks to reap the benefit of its investment in youth through
the club’s success in the league and in addition, financially, in the
event of a home grown talent emerging as a ‘star’ of the future
and attracting the interest of the bigger clubs. Whilst this may have become
a less regular feature, there are a number of players in the present squad
where it is still a realistic one – albeit any transfer fee may be
somewhat lower than we previously could have anticipated. Playershare Ltd. has negotiated terms of trade with the Football Club which
allow for the company to take an interest in the whole playing staff through
the total transfer income of AFC Bournemouth over a period of 4 years. Additionally
the company may take a specific interest in an individual player. Each of the
above options offers a percentage of the transfer revenue derived from the
sale of a player(s) in return for every £1,000 or part thereof, invested
by Playershare Ltd. Objectives 1. To provide for the improvement in the quality and experience of the playing
staff over and above that which would otherwise be possible, given the financial
constraints placed on the manager by the AFC Bournemouth Board of Directors. 2. Through the above: to improve the performance of the 1st team, to accelerate
the development of the younger players and ultimately to increase a player’s
value in the transfer market. 3. To provide additional funds to AFC Bournemouth through the reinvestment
of a minimum of 75% of all net profits of the Company. The remaining 25 % of
any profits may be distributed to shareholders, who may wish to use any such
distribution to purchase further shares in the company. Investment Strategy Playershare Ltd. will make available additional funds over and above the monetary
budget available to the manager for playing staff salary costs and acquisition. In order to diversify risk, Playershare Ltd. will initially build a ‘stake’ in
the playing staff of AFC Bournemouth in its entirety. This is a lower risk
strategy, as it reduces the exposure the company has to an individual player's
fitness, form, contractual idiosyncrasies or relationship with the Club. An interest in 15% of the whole squad has now been achieved, and in addition
further interest has been taken in a number of players. The present limits
that have been agreed with the club will place severe restrictions on how much
in the way of further finance can be provided. It is therefore proposed to
seek an increase in the mimima. The company has a sum in the Loan Notes scheme which represents our investment
in a player. The interest on this will be used to defray the running costs
of the company. We expect any future money invested to therefore be invested
100% directly into the playing resources or in the promotion of Playershare
Ltd. Ensuring the money is used for team development There are three principle ways: 1. Requests have to come directly from the Manager 2. Money for wages is paid on a monthly basis on salary date directly to the
salaries account 3. The directors have to confirm that the money for this is not available
within the playing budget Financial support The type of support that Playershare may provide can roughly be divided into
two categories: 1. Emergency – the most likely need for this type of finance will arise
if a player is injured on a long-term basis, and the manager needs to bring
in a loan player to cover. Playershare will aim to have a sum on deposit that
is equivalent to around 3 months loan wages, so that the manager knows that
such funding is in place. If a call is made on these funds, then Playershare
will ensure that these funds are replenished before committing any further
funds. It is thought that Paul Frank’s tombola and the CM regular saving
scheme will be major contributors to this funding. 2. Opportunities – this is where the manager sees the opportunity to
strengthen the squad during the course of the season; the route may be direct
or – as in the case of Warren Cummings – initially by way of loan
and then transfer. In either case, the money needed is unlikely to have been
budgeted for by the club. Playershare support could be for transfer fees, loan
wages or permanent wages until the end of the season. The money for this is
unlikely to be immediately on call. Instead the company intends to ask shareholders
whether or not they have further funds available should an “opportunity” situation
arise. A register will be compiled, and a conservative estimate of the money
available calculated. This will be communicated to the manager, who will then
have a better idea of what he can hope to achieve. Operating structure and conditions The Playershare concept is attractive to all AFC Bournemouth supporters but
unfortunately the majority of these find the initial investment criteria
too onerous. Following an initiative by the Community Mutual, Playershare
has agreed to provide for a ‘corporate’ shareholder subject to
certain conditions to ensure that what is a private limited company is not ‘taken
over’ by corporate investment. The conditions referred to are: Shares issued to corporate investors have no voting rights. Corporate shareholders have no rights to election to the Executive Committees
of Playershare Use of the Playershare corporate identity for media exposure/ publicity or
promotional purposes is not allowed without the prior agreement of the Directors
of Playershare Playershare currently has 4 Directors: Adrian Kelley - Chairman, Nick Douch,
Derek Martin, Derek Wiley. In addition there is an Operating Committee comprising: Adrian Kelley, Derek
Wiley, Derek Martin, Nick Douch, Stewart Harrison, Leonard Simonis, Paul Dore,
Adrian Bishop and Roy Dibden. . |
