APFSCIL Constitution

APFSCIL CONSTITUTION

Revised June 2018 Reflecting changes passed at AGM 43
1. TITLE
The name of the body shall be The Association of Provincial Football Supporters' Clubs in London ("hereafter called The Association"). The Association is usually referred to by its initials APFSCIL).
________________________________________
2. AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION
These are stated to be, in no order of priority, as follows:
i. To promote mutual help and advice between affiliated organisations.
ii. To encourage other eligible organisations which are not affiliated to the Association to apply for affiliation and to encourage and assist in the formation of organisations with a view to their applying for affiliation to the Association.
iii. To establish and maintain a high standard of conduct by members of affiliated organisations and, in doing so, to foster a reputation of respectability for organised football supporters' excursions and activities.
iv. To promote the views and interests of football supporters generally.
v. To encourage the joint promotion by affiliated organisations of travel arrangements, social functions and competitions.
vi. By the adoption of a common approach to transport operators to secure for affiliated organisations the best possible facilities for travel to football matches.
vii. To encourage, establish and maintain lines of communication between the Association, its affiliated organisations other supporters’ organisations where relevant and the media generally.
________________________________________
3. AFFILIATION TO THE ASSOCIATION
(a) Affiliation to the Association shall be open to London and Southern England based organisations of football supporters of teams whose home grounds are situated outside the area bounded by the M25 Motorway.
(b) Affiliation is divided by two different forms of membership – Full Membership which is governed by this full constitution or Associate Membership, which is governed by articles 12 and 13 of this constitution.
________________________________________
4. THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
(a) Election
A Committee of the Association (“the Committee) shall be elected at each Annual General Meeting of the Association and each person elected to the Committee shall hold office for one year but may offer him or her self for re-election at the following Annual General Meeting. In this instance, the word “year” refers to the twelve-month period from 1st July until 30th June in any calendar year.
(b) Members of the Committee
These shall comprise:
i. Chairman.
ii. Vice-Chairman.
iii. Secretary.
iv. Minutes Secretary.
v. Treasurer.
vi. Press and Publicity Officer.
vii. Sports and Social Secretary.
viii. Travel Officer.
(c) Composition of the Committee
The Committee shall include no more than 2 representatives from any one affiliated organisation unless otherwise approved at an AGM.
(d) Casual Vacancies
The Committee has power to fill any vacancy that may occur during the year by co-option and that co-opted person shall serve until the next General Meeting following when the vacancy shall be the subject of a vote at which other candidates may be nominated for the vacancy.
(e) Meetings of the Committee
i. No meeting of the Committee shall commence, or continue, without at least 4 members of the Committee being present.
ii. The Committee shall meet formally not less than once in every 70 days and minutes of each such meeting shall be circulated to all affiliated organisations.
iii. Any member of the Committee who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings of the Committee without offering an explanation which is acceptable to the Committee shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.
(f) Powers of the Committee
The Committee shall have no executive power but shall be responsible only for carrying out the policy and actions decided upon at General Meetings of the Association; provided that this clause shall not prevent the Committee commenting upon, whether through the press broadcasting media or otherwise, issues relevant to the Association where it is not practicable to consult a General Meeting beforehand. In all such cases, the Committee shall report fully to the next General Meeting and implement any decisions thereon following such General Meeting.
(g) Records of Attendances
The Committee shall appoint a member to maintain a record of all those who attend General Meetings of the Association and maintain an accurate record of the business transacted at such Meetings as further described in Paragraph 5 (e) below.
________________________________________
5. GENERAL MEETINGS
(a) Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held no later than the 30th June in each calendar year.
(b) General Meetings
General Meetings of the Association shall be held upon the first Monday of each month except:
i. Where the first Monday in any month is a Bank Holiday then the General Meeting in that month shall be held upon the second Monday.
ii. The Committee may cancel a General Meeting providing the proposal is passed at the General Meeting which immediately precedes the proposed cancelled General Meeting. The Committee shall also have power to cancel a scheduled General Meeting at any time should previously unforeseen circumstances make such action necessary.
iii. A General Meeting may be called at the discretion of the Committee at any time and shall so be called at the request of no fewer than one quarter in number of the affiliated organisations of the Association.
iv. Notice of A General Meeting pursuant to sub paragraph (iii) of this paragraph shall be given by the Committee sending written notice to each affiliated organisation not less than 7 days before the date of the intended meeting.
(c) Quorums
Quorums for General meetings are as follows.
i. No Annual General Meeting shall commence without there being present at least one representative from no less than fifty percent of the affiliated organisations, entitled to vote, of the Association.
ii. No Ordinary General Meeting shall commence without there being present at least one representative from no less than forty percent of the affiliated organisations, entitled to vote, of the Association.
(d) Procedure at General Meetings
i. Each affiliated organisation shall have one vote upon any resolution before any General Meeting but only if at least one representative of that affiliated organisation is present when the vote is taken.
ii. With the intention of ensuring that the Association's credibility is maintained and to avoid the exposure to criticism that uninterested parties have participated in any decision of the Association, the Chairman at any General Meeting may, where there is a resolution to be voted upon which concerns matters falling within sub-paragraphs (iv) and/or (vii) of paragraph 2, restrict the voting on such resolution to those affiliated organisations which are primarily interested in the matter which is the subject of the resolution. This shall not, however, prevent any uninterested affiliated organisation speaking in the debate upon the resolution and the Chairman's decision as to which affiliated organisations may vote and which may not vote can be challenged by any affiliated organisation and upon such challenge the ruling of the Chairman shall be the subject of a vote by all the affiliated organisations which are present.
iii. All resolutions shall be decided by a simple majority of the affiliated organisations present and voting, except that where the resolution concerns the admission of an organisation to the Association or the expulsion of an affiliated organisation from the Association that resolution shall, to be carried, require a two thirds majority of those affiliated organisations present and voting (and for this purpose an abstention shall constitute a vote).
(e) Records of Meetings
A formal record of the outcome of each meeting in the form of minutes shall be maintained by the Minutes Secretary or, in his or her absence, by a member of the Committee appointed by the Chairman. The minutes shall be distributed to nominated representatives of each affiliated organisation no later than seven (7) days prior to the commencement of the next meeting, except in the case of the Annual General Meeting, when the minutes shall be distributed not later than one calendar month prior to the commencement of the next Annual General Meeting. The minutes shall consist of, but not be limited to, reports from members of the Committee (see paragraph 4(b)) or sub-committees (see paragraph 8(a)).
________________________________________
6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION
(a) Full Members of the Association shall agree to uphold, and must at all times carry out, the aims of the Association as set out in paragraph 2.
(b) Attendance at General Meetings
i. Attendance at a General Meeting shall be recorded by means of a register which shall be circulated at that meeting. Any affiliated organisation which fails to record its representation on this register shall be marked absent unless satisfactory proof of attendance is produced to the Committee.
ii. An affiliated organisation shall attend no less than one half of the General Meetings in any one year (for this purpose the year shall commence with, and include, the August meeting) and if any affiliated organisation fails to attend at least one half of the General Meetings during that period, or shall fail to attend any three consecutive General Meetings, the Committee shall require that affiliated organisation to explain its attendance record and/or absence from meetings and the Committee may submit the continued membership of that affiliated organisation in the Association for discussion at a succeeding General Meeting.
(c) Affiliation Fee
Each affiliated organisation shall pay an affiliation fee for each year of its membership. The amount of such fee shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting and shall then become due on the date of the Annual General Meeting. Any affiliated organisation which fails to pay the affiliation fee for the current year calculated from the date of the Annual General Meeting by the commencement of the September General Meeting in that year shall be deemed to have lapsed from affiliation to the Association and must re-apply for affiliation and, in the meantime, pending a decision on such application, that affiliated organisation shall not be permitted to take any part in any activities, sporting or otherwise, of the Association until such affiliation fee has been paid. New joining eligible organisations who affiliate at any other meeting other than the Annual General Meeting (see paragraph 5(a)) shall have their affiliation fee calculated, subject to the agreement of the Committee, and/or Full Members of the Association proportionately as follows:
(Meeting No. of General Meeting ___ (Meeting No. when) X Fee preceding next AGM) organisation affiliated) 10
(d) Provision of Information
Each affiliated organisation shall produce such information as the Committee shall require from time to time as to its activities and its adherence to the aims of the Association as set out in paragraph 2.
(e) Each affiliated organisation shall nominate a representative who shall act as a formal point of liaison between the Committee and that organisation. It is the responsibility of the affiliated organisation to ensure that formal liaison is maintained and any changes are notified in a timely manner to the Secretary.
________________________________________
7. ACCOUNTS
(a) The Association shall maintain a fund from which can meet the expenses incurred in carrying out the aims of the Association as defined in paragraph 2 and for that purpose shall maintain an account or accounts with banks and/or building societies to be determined by the Committee and all cheques drawn on such accounts shall bear the signature of not less than two of the persons elected for the time being as Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
(b) The Treasurer shall report to each General Meeting as to the state of the account or accounts maintained by the Association and shall prepare for presentation at every Annual General Meeting income and expenditure accounts and balance sheets to show all monies assets and other securities of the Association. In addition, the accounts will be audited annually and the financial year will end on 31st March. Under no circumstances shall the accounts be audited directly or indirectly by a member of the Committee.
(c)The authority to pledge the credit of the Association and to enter into any contracts and/or agreements and to make payments by or on behalf of the Association is vested solely in the Committee unless specifically delegated by the Committee.
________________________________________
8. SUB COMMITTEES AND SPORTING ACTIVITIES
(a) The Committee shall have the power to delegate a specific responsibility (except where this would be in breach of paragraph 7(c)), to a sub committee established for that purpose. Such sub committee will include at least one member of the Committee (and in the event of a sub committee concerned with a sporting activity, the Sports and Social Secretary shall, in any event, be a member of such sports sub committee). The other members of the sub committee will each represent a different affiliated organisation from each other and from any member of the Committee who is a member of that sub committee, except in the case of the Sports and Social Secretary. Each sub committee shall report regularly to the Committee.
(b) Those affiliated organisations of the Association participating in any specific sporting competition or activity may nominate a person to organise that competition or activity in which case the name of such person shall be submitted to the Committee for approval as soon as is reasonably possible. Such individual shall report regularly to the Committee and/or to General Meetings.
(c) Any affiliated organisation participating in any sporting competition or activity organised solely for the affiliated organisations within the Association shall have the right to pursue any grievances in the following manner copying the relevant correspondence to the Secretary:
i. Firstly, to any sub-committee which exists to organise and/or oversee that sporting competition or activity and
ii. In the event that there is no such sub-committee, or in the event that the affiliated organisation is dissatisfied with the decision of such sub-committee in respect of its grievance, that affiliated organisation may submit its grievance or appeal to the Committee (as the case may be) within a reasonable time after the circumstances which form the subject of the grievance arose or after the decision of the sub-committee has been notified to that affiliated organisation and the Committee shall consider the grievance and shall be entitled to request all such information and assistance from that affiliated organisation and/or any other affiliated organisation to enable it to consider the grievance and
iii. In the event that no decision is made by the Committee and notified to the affiliated organisation, whose grievance it is, within 4 weeks of the grievance having been notified to the Secretary of the Association electronically or in writing, or in the event that that affiliated organisation is dissatisfied with the decision of the Committee, that affiliated organisation may refer the grievance for discussion at a General Meeting and any decision made at that General Meeting shall be final and binding.
Provided that the procedure set in sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph shall not apply to any matters which fall to be dealt with by the London Football Association exclusively and arising from those affiliated organisations participating in the APFSCIL Football League.
________________________________________
9. DUAL OR MULTIPLE MEMBERSHIP OF AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS
While any individual may express opinions or present reports on behalf of more than one affiliated organisation at any one General Meeting he or she may only register attendance on behalf of one affiliated organisation and vote on behalf of that affiliated organisation at any one General Meeting.
________________________________________
10. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
If any complaint is made that any affiliated organisation has failed to maintain a high standard of conduct either by its self and/or by its members or in any other way has not upheld the aims of the Association as set out in paragraph 2, that organisation shall be required to submit for discussion at the next General Meeting after the complaint is made a statement concerning the complaint. Such complaints should, wherever possible, have been made to a responsible officer of that affiliated organisation at the time of the incident or as soon as reasonably possible after the incident. In cases where unsatisfactory behaviour is alleged the statement submitted by the relevant affiliated organisation shall include a full report of the incident and of the steps taken to deal with those members responsible. The General Meeting shall discuss the complaint and the response of the relevant affiliated organisation and the continued affiliation of the organisation may then be the subject of a vote.
________________________________________
11. CESSATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
In the event of the cessation of the Association for any reason any monies remaining together with any accumulated profits from any events organised by the Association shall after settlement of outstanding debts and liabilities be distributed equally among all those affiliated organisations which have been affiliated to the Association for not less than twelve months.
________________________________________
12. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION
The Association shall also maintain a category of Associate Membership for organisations or individuals whose ultimate objective is to form an organisation which shall be capable of, and eligible to, apply for affiliation to the Association. The following provisions shall apply to the category of Associate Membership:
(a) This category shall be open to organisations or individuals which or who satisfy the Aims of the Association set out in paragraph 2 and in particular sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 2.
(b) Associate Members shall be entitled to attend General Meetings but shall have no right to vote at General Meetings.
(c) Associate Members shall not be permitted to participate in any of the sporting activities organised by the Association save that Associate Members may be invited to participate in any individual sporting or other competitions organised by the Association.
(d) The affiliation fee for Associate Membership shall be determined at each Annual General Meeting. The intention, subject to the overriding decision of the Association at an Annual General Meeting, is that Associate Members shall pay a reduced affiliation fee consistent with the limited rights of Associate Members and with the specific intention of encouraging Associate Members.
(e) The continued membership of each Associate Member shall be subject to a vote at each Annual General Meeting but without prejudice to the right to consider the continued membership of any Associate Member at any other General Meeting.
(f) Affiliated organisations are encouraged to arrange joint travel with Associate Members where practicable.
(g) All resolutions concerning the membership of an Associate Member shall be subject to the voting requirements as set out in paragraph 5 (d) (iii) which relate to the admission of an organisation to the Association.
________________________________________

13. APFSCIL FOOTBALL LEAGUE ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Association shall maintain a category of Associate Membership of the organisation for organisations whose only function is to organise teams to play in the APFSCIL Football League. The following provisions shall apply to the category of APFSCIL Football League Associate Membership:
(a) APFSCIL Football League Associate Membership will not be open to organisations who take part in any other sporting activity organised under the auspices of APFSCIL.
(b) APFSCIL Football League Associate Membership will not be open to organisations who run organised travel to games involving the club they represent.
(c) With the exception of the matters mentioned above, the organisations admitted under APFSCIL Football League Associate Membership should satisfy the Aims of the Association set out in paragraph 2 and in particular sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 2.
(d) APFSCIL Football League Associate Members shall be entitled to attend General Meetings but shall have no right to vote at General Meetings.
(e) The affiliation fee for APFSCIL Football League Associate Membership shall be determined at each Annual General Meeting.
(f) The continued membership of each APFSCIL Football League Associate Member shall be subject to a vote at each Annual General Meeting but without prejudice to the right to consider the continued membership of any APFSCIL Football League Associate Member at any other General Meeting.
(g) All resolutions concerning the membership of an APFSCIL Football League Associate Member shall be subject to the voting requirements as set out in paragraph 5 (d) (iii) which relate to the admission of an organisation to the Association.
(h) The provisions of paragraph 6 (b) (ii) shall not apply to APFSCIL Football League Associate Members.
(i) Such Associate Membership of the Association shall apply solely for the duration that that member club remains affiliated to the APFSCIL Football League.
________________________________________

14. APFSCIL HONORARY PRESIDENT

The Committee may from time to time propose to the membership at a General Meeting that the organisation appoint a Honorary President in recognition of services to APFSCIL. This appointment can be for life, or to expire annually, this to be decided by the membership when considering a proposal from the Committee. The Honorary President shall be entitled to attend General Meetings and the Annual General Meeting, but not be entitled to vote by reason of being Honorary President. The Honorary President shall not be deemed to be part of The Administrative Committee. The role of Honorary President shall not confer any role in the running or administration of APFSCIL. The appointment of a Honorary President can be rescinded at any time if proposed by the Committee and agreed by the members at a General Meeting.