TRUSTEES REPORT
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 2024 Approved at the AGM held on 29th January 2025
Neuro Walking Football Worcestershire is a registered charity with the following objects:
“ Objects
-
1) The objects of the CIO are:
-
For the public benefit, to promote and protect the physical and mental health of adults with Parkinson's or other Neurological Conditions, primarily by playing walking football and other associated activities.
-
For the public benefit, to relieve the needs of those with Parkinson's or other Neurological Conditions and their families/carers through providing opportunities to access mutual support/advice and share experiences.
-
2) The main area of activity of the CIO is Worcestershire.
-
3) Nothing in this Constitution shall authorise an application of the property of the CIO for purposes which are not charitable in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.”
The charity is a walking football club for people (both men and women) living with Parkinson’s Disease or other neurological conditions. The club was established in January 2022 as an initiative by Issey Lee Fisher, then a final year student at the University of Worcester, as part of her degree studies. The club was registered as a CIO on 10[th] June 2024. The club is also registered with HMRC for Gift Aid and with Malvern Hills District Council for Small Society Lotteries. The club plays using the team name Movers and Shakers FC, a name which it adopted early in 2022.
The club is affiliated to the Worcestershire Football Association (the main benefits of which are club and officers liability and players personal injury insurance) and is also affiliated to the Walking Football Association (which also provides a modest level of personal injury insurance). Walking football is a relatively new sport and there is not currently a single regulatory body prescribing rules for the game. In this respect the club has found the rules developed by the Scottish Walking Football Association helpful in facilitating safe play between players with differing levels of skill, fitness and impairment.
The CIO is managed by a committee of trustees who are appointed at the AGM or between general meetings by the committee in accordance with the CIO Constitution. The trustees at the date of the club’s registration as a CIO were Simon Forrest (chairman), Chris Pearce (Secretary and treasurer), Jo
1
CHARITY COMMISSION/REPORTS 2024/Trustees Report
Eastough, Helen Ayling, Robert Pearce and Christopher Marshall. These trustees remained in office until the AGM in January 2025.
Chris Pearce and Robert Pearce are connected persons as are Simon Forrest and Joanna Eastough. Joanna Eastough has a contract for the provision of specialist physiotherapy services to the club. This contract is in writing, is reviewed annually, and complies with Charity Commission guidance relating to payments to trustees or connected persons. None of the trustees claimed expenses in 2024 for attendance at meetings, but some trustees received reimbursement for payments made to third parties to acquire goods or services on behalf of the club. In making decisions the trustees have regard to Charity Commission guidance, including that related to public benefit.
The club meets weekly at Claines Lane in Worcester for an hour’s play, followed by a networking hour where members and their carers, spouses or partners can exchange information, experiences or advice. The club arranges periodic friendly matches with other impairment walking football teams in the region and with Parkinson’s Pioneers. Since its establishment in 2022 the club has sent a team annually to the Cure Parkinson’s Cup at St Georges Park and The Peoples Ford Walking Football Festival in Glasgow. In both 2022 and 2023 it organised its own regional tournament, but it was unable to do so in 2024 because of the unavailability of suitable facilities.
The club’s main expenses are pitch and community room hire, physiotherapist services, and the cost of travel to major tournaments. The club experienced unexpected increases in its facilities hire charges in both 2023 and 2024 and the possibility of further increases represents one of the club’s greatest financial risks, particularly since Worcester City FC has announced that it proposes to move from this venue to Six Ways, Worcester (a site already used by Worcester City Women FC).
The club’s policy is to keep subscriptions at the lowest level compatible with sound financial management: meeting current and anticipated future costs and establishing a reserve sufficient to meet between six and twelve months anticipated expenditure. The club was obliged to raise subscriptions substantially following an unexpected significant increase in its facility charges, but at the same time it designated a generous donation from a third party as a bursary fund which can and has been used to subsidise the subscription of members who are unable to afford the full rate. Buoyant recruitment of members in 2024 has enabled reserves to accumulate to a satisfactory level. Since Parkinson’s is degenerative condition, a higher turnover of members has to be expected than would be the case with adults without any impairment, and it is therefore prudent to be cautious about subscription income. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that, barring any unexpected financial shock, it should not be necessary to increase subscriptions for or during 2025.
There is very little publicly available support for those living with Parkinson’s and related neurological conditions. The club is positioned to help to fill this gap. The club’s activities promote regular exercise by members. This is generally acknowledged as having a beneficial impact on the health and wellbeing of participants. Parkinson’s is also frequently associated with depression because of the impact of the condition on ordinary activities and the isolation which it can engender. The club provides an environment which can counter isolation and encourage positive thinking. The opportunity for members, their spouses, partners and carers, to share experiences, information and advice, also has a positive impact for all those involved. The club has taken part in a research project by Robert Gordon University which aims to assess the club’s impact. It is hoped that the report of this project will be published in 2025. In order to strengthen the relationship between members and between spouses and partners, social events are organised, some of which are also used for fundraising. These events do not involve the use of charity funds.
The club meets during ordinary working hours, which serves the needs of its members, most of whom 2
CHARITY COMMISSION/REPORTS 2024/Trustees Report
are retired. In an endeavour to extend the benefits of the club to people of working age, the club trialled running evening sessions at the Football Factory in Redditch. Regrettably, despite the best efforts to promote this, there was insufficient response to make this viable, and the initiative, begun in 2023, had to be discontinued in 2024.
The club does not measure success by its competitive achievements. Nonetheless it is gratifying that at The People’s Ford Walking Football Festival in Glasgow in November 2024, the team fielded by the club achieved fourth place, a significant improvement on its bottom place the previous year.
The club’s plans for 2025 include participation in the national Parkinson’s tournaments in England and Scotland and the organisation of its own regional tournament.
3 CHARITY COMMISSION/REPORTS 2024/Trustees Report
Charity Name No (if any) NEURO WALKING FOOTBALL WORCESTERSHIRE 1208593 Receipts and payments accounts For the period Period start date Period end date To from
CC16a
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Membershipfees 9,970 Donations(Gift Aided) 304 Donations(Not Gift Aided) 10 Fund Raising 1,672 Contribution to Activities - - - 11,956 - - Sub total - Total receipts 11,956 A3 Payments Affilliation Fees 325 Facilities Hire 2,652 Professional Fees 2,775 Equipment and Kit 473 Office Costs 115 Refreshments 318 Attendance at Tournaments 1,509 Miscellaneous 408 Sub total 8,575 - - Sub total - Total payments 8,575 Net of receipts/(payments) 3,381 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 6,289 Cash funds this year end 9,670 Unrestricted funds Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
to the nearest £ - - - - 1,948 - - - 1,948 - - - 1,948 - - - - - 388 1,435 125 - 1,948 - - - 1,948 - - - - Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ 9,970 304 10 1,672 1,948 - - - 13,904 - - - 13,904 325 2,652 2,775 473 115 706 2,944 533 - 10,523 - - - 10,523 3,381 - 6,289 9,670 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | - | 3,381 | - | |
| - | - | - | - | |
| - | - | 6,289 | - | |
| - | - | 9,670 | - |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Bank balance Cash Details Details Details Details Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 8,565 - 1,105 - - - 9,670 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
|||
| Date of approval |
|||