## **Trustees Annual Report:  Year Ending 30[th ] April 2024** 

The Trustees present this report accompanied by the Treasurer's Report and independently examined accounts for the year ended 30th April 2024. 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

Woking Boys and Girls Club registered as a charity on 8th May 1986 governed by its Constitution, last amended on 26[th ] June 2016. 

This year the Woking Town Football Club consisted of 30 teams and 350 players across the U5 to U18 age groups and 55 volunteers plus coaches from our coaching partner SkillZone. 

As a membership organisation, our members comprise of the children, Club Trustees, Officers and other Volunteers, with Parents or Guardians holding constitutional proxies to vote on behalf of their children. 

The Trustees who served during this Financial Year were: 

- Michael Hodges, Chairman & Club Secretary, appointed July 2017 

- John Mould, Treasurer, appointed June 2023 

- David Franklin, appointed June 2015 

- Kevin Brunning, appointed June 2015 

- Daniel Parmer, appointed July 2019 

These Trustees currently comprise the central club Committee, which meets monthly and is responsible for its management and operation. They are appointed or re-appointed annually at our AGM, with interim appointments made as necessary by the Board of Trustees. 

All Trustees, Officers and other volunteers give their time freely and receive no remuneration or additional benefit. 




## **Safeguarding Children** 

Woking Town FC take the safeguarding of children extremely seriously, and in response to this critical issue and with the valuable input of our Child Welfare Officer, Michael Hodges, and the Surrey FA, we have reinforced our safeguarding procedures as follows: 

- The Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a requirement for all within the Club who are working with/ coaching members aged under 18. 

- All Club coaches have been issued with an official Club jacket or training top so that children and parents can easily recognise the Club representatives at any time they are involved with footballing activities 

- The Club website has been updated to ensure it is in line with the current guidance given by the Surrey FA regarding safeguarding children 

As a Club, we take our responsibilities towards safeguarding children very seriously and will continue to monitor and update any aspect of the Club's running where it is considered there may be a potential risk, however small. 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

Our Constitution defines our charitable objective as _**"to provide and encourage recreation and leisure time activities and occupations for boys and girls who reside in or near Woking, to improve their conditions of life".**_ 

In furtherance of this objective, our Trustees and Officers are aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on Public Benefit and plan activities accordingly. 

Our activities' focus remains the provision of football coaching to boys and girls, targeting the development of their Football, team and interpersonal skills. This currently starts with our youngest Under-five age group essential skills development. Our mini soccer age groups continue through increasing skills training and development and progress to youth football with more intensive training. 

Our Benevolent Fund is a complementary activity for providing financial support to enable children who may be socially excluded due to difficult circumstances to participate in our football programme and is administered in strict confidence. 

The Club continues as it has always done to help those in trouble or deprived of Football, and we continue to offer generous funding to children in the Woking area. 

We also made funds available for any families impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and we continue to support families who need assistance. 




We have taken this one step further by as a club and working with the CWO officer taking active participation within the Community through Surrey Police and Active Surrey where we have identified children struggling in their environments and requiring financial aid. We have integrated them into the club and given them support through participating in sports. We have seen this activity bring some huge rewards in changing behaviour and providing valuable support 

## **Achievements and Performance** 

Woking Town FC are delighted now be working in partnership with Westfield FC.  Our vision is for the Westfield ground to become a new home for the club with football being played on a planned 3G pitch. 

Woking Town FC is proud to be an England Football Accredited Club, awarded 2 stars in March 2024.  England Football Accredited is the framework for all grassroots clubs and leagues, replacing The FA Charter Standard. It is an opportunity for The FA and County FA’s to recognise all leagues and clubs who raise the bar and set the best standards for football to thrive in England. 

To receive accreditation clubs must satisfy specific criteria both on and off the pitch, demonstrating that all players - whether male, female and/or disability players – of all ages - can fully access the best of football in a well-run, high quality, safe and sustainable environment. 

The club infrastructure must be sound, robust, efficient and effective, centred around the “Respect” standards and behaviours needed to make football in England something we can all be proud to be part of. 

Being an Accredited club is also a clear signal to the local community that we continue to value the importance of being accessible, sustainable, safe, and determined to offer the very best football experience for all our members. 

Our thanks go out to the Committee that moves the Club forward and embrace change and innovation. 

We thank all the coaches, and parents' reps who put in many hours to ensure training and games are played. 

We require all our volunteer coaches to take the FA Introduction to Coaching course (formally FA Level 1) and appreciate their commitment. 

We support The FA's Respect policy and require all our officials, players, parents and spectators to promote good behaviour and respect each other’s views and decisions. 

- Enjoy The Game - we're here to enjoy ourselves... win, lose or draw. 

- Give Respect - we always treat others as we'd like to be treated. 

- Be Inclusive - we embrace our differences... football is a game for everyone. 

- Work Together - we're a team, on and off the pitch. 




- Play Safe - we all have a role in safeguarding young people and vulnerable adults. 

Together, these Standards of Behaviour promote a positive, inclusive and respectful football experience for everyone. 

Following these will make Woking Town a stronger club football club which better represents our communities. 

## **Football Development** 

Through our new partnership with Westfield FC, we are now creating a pathway for our players to move into adult football and hope to become a significant feeder into Westfield’s first team in the future. 

We are delighted to start our first teams dedicated to girls’ football and have quickly grown to 40 girls playing football within the club 

The club have focused on retaining players ensuring support is provided to our newer and development players. We achieved our target to having Professional Coaches at every age group level across the club who led sessions to support our volunteer coaches. 

## **Facilities** 

The Club has made a big push to upgrade the training and match day facilities which have led to increases in the fees. We are now proud to say that all our teams train on the best available facilities with most now training on 3G pitches. 

The club continues to play home matches at Woking College and St Johns the Baptist in Woking. 

Training is held at the 3G sites at Eastwood Leisure, Woking Leisure Centre, Woking College, The Sports Box, Winston Churchill and Woking High School. 

We continue to target a home ground with a Clubhouse and a 3G pitch for our members to use and play on.  We are now working with our partners Westfield FC to secure the planning and funding to achieve this vision at their ground in Woking Park. 

We have put together an internal committee to drive this initiative and we look forward to progressing it in 2025. 




## **Administration** 

The clubs committee with support of many volunteers are focussed on ensuring the club is well run and issues are addressed on a timely basis. 

- Committee meetings are held monthly – volunteers and members are invited to raise agenda items or attend a meeting 

- 3 coaches’ meetings per season – open to all members to attend 

- Ongoing financial reviews – with robust forward planning 

- Regular dialogue with our facilities suppliers 

- Enhancements to our membership system including automating the onboarding of trial members 

- Regular reviews of the content of our website to ensure it contains key information for our coaches and members 

- Development of internal communications via WhatsApp groups 

- Sharing key messages via our social media channels 

Our extensive body of member volunteers continues to make an invaluable contribution to the success of our Club. As ever, we are indebted and grateful for the many hours they spend working on behalf of our young players. 

## **Status of Key Objectives** 

|**Key Objective**|**Key Result in 2023-24**|**Status **|**Next Steps: 2024-25**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Expand the membership of the Club to|April 24 - 350 members 21% annual||Target - 400 members by Dec 24|
|support facility buildout & achieve|growth|Green|Target - 500 members by Dec 25|
|economies of scale||||
|Locate a permanent home for the club|Entered into a partnership with||Secure lease, planning & funding in 2025|
|and its players|Westfield FC|Green|to build a 3G pitch to enable Woking Town|
||||FC to play football at the facility|
|Build out a Football Development|Implemented professional coaching at||Develop a program to retain development|
|roadmap with a partner to facilitate and|every age group||players|
|support this growth||Amber||
||||Develop a program to support advanced|
||||players|
|Increase the participation on girls in|Year 1 23/24: 40 girls    13%||Target continued growth via word of|
|football.  Target number of girl members||Amber|mouth, schools and social media|
|being 50% of boys with 3 years||||
|Drive change to make football a more|Embraced the FA Respect campaign||Communications to all members|
|enjoyable experience for player, coaches,|Discussed approach at coaches||Respect officals appointed at all home|
|spectors & referees|meetings|Amber|matches|
||Support & mentoring sessions||Jackets for respect officials|
||provided to referees|||






## **Financial Review** 

Our Professional Advisors during this financial year were: 

1. Independent Examiner (Year End Accounts) – Hilary Dickenson 

2. Bankers – Barclays 

For financial performance details, refer to the separate Treasurer's Report with Income and Expenditure Sheet, Balance Sheet and Independent Examiner's Report. 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, 


**Michael Hodges Trustee** 

**Date: 14 February 2025** 




## **Honorary Treasurer’s Report for the Year to 30th April 2024** 

**Woking Boys and Girls Club (“the Club”), also known as Woking Town FC, is constituted by Deed of Trust and is a registered Charity No. 292342 (England and Wales).** 

## **Accounting Policies** 

The Accounts are prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis as permitted by Section 42(3) of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by Section 28 of the Charities Act 2006. The Statement of Financial Activities therefore reconciles only to the Cash and Bank Account balances in the Balance Sheet Statement. There are no accruals or prepayments shown in the accounts. 

The Club owns equipment to support training and match events which are held in either a secure lock-up container owned by the Club, located at Woking College, the value of which was written off on acquisition, or by arrangement within other playing premises, Winston Churchill School, St John the Baptist School, Eastwood Leisure Centre and Woking High School. The Club is not registered for Value Added Tax, so all expenditure is shown inclusive of VAT. Furthermore, the Club has no liability to Income or Corporation Taxes. 

Accounts for the 2023/2024 financial year were reviewed on 23 February 2025 by an Independent Examiner whose report is appended to the annual accounts and available on request. 




## **Financial Report** 

The Club is reporting an operating surplus of £9,041 for the 12-month period to 30[th ] April 2024. This surplus compares to a deficit of £8,256 in the prior year.  Significantly the year to 30 April 2024 contains a catch-up of 2 prior years Gift Aid receipts. 

Income from annual subscriptions increased by 45%.  This was driven by a playing members increasing to a record of 350 members (prior year 220) and an 18% increase in the subscription fees. 

Expenses increased by 56% driven in part by the increased membership, combined with decisions taken to investment in coaching and kit provided to the members. Costs of kit and coaching doubles as the club: 

- Provided a professional coach to lead training across every age group. 

- Included training kit within the membership fee for the first time. 

The club continues to strive to offer a high quality of training and match facilities, costs remain a challenge with rate increases of up to 10% from the prior year. 

The club continues to rely on the still increasing numbers of parents and guardians volunteering to support the club’s members.  All our volunteer coaches are DBS checked and hold safeguarding, first aid and coaching certificates. 

## **Highlights:** 

- The Club operates on a receipts and payments accounting basis. 

- Gift Aid receipts contained an additional 2 years of claims, delayed from prior years. 

- Membership numbers reached a record of 350 members 

- Investments made in professional coaching and players training kit 

- Pitch hire availability and costs continue to be a challenge 

- The club re-introduced its end of season Club Day & presentations which was held in May 24 

- The club is committed to attracting underprivileged children and significant reserves remain for this support to be continued. 




## **Outlook:** 

The Trustees remain comfortable with the Club’s financial position. The Club continues to operate with a cash surplus approaching £60,000 and, crucially some of our expense categories have sufficient flexibility to allow us to manage our financial performance in any given period. Our objective remains for the Club to cover its operating expenses from member subscriptions alone whilst still allowing us to maintain our significant levels of investment in clothing, equipment and professional coaching. Whilst costs do remain a challenge the club continues to have a healthy financial position. 

Annual subscription fees for the 2024/25 season have been held to a flat with the club planning to offset cost increases by achieving some economies of scale through the continued growth of the club’s membership and robust expense management. 

We believe the Club offers excellent value for our members as subscriptions provide a variety of training opportunities, finance our programme of continuous investment in modern training equipment and allow us to provide high quality clothing on a 2- yearly cycle. We strongly believe club continues to remain one of the best value grassroot football clubs in the county 

The Club remains committed to providing each player with professional coaching opportunities throughout the season to aid their progression. This professional coaching combined with high quality venues, kit and equipment enables the Club to differentiate itself from other football clubs in the area, meeting players developmental needs whilst providing a powerful marketing tool to attract new players to the club. 


John Mould Honorary Treasurer 23[rd] February 2025 



|**WOKING BOYS & GIRLS CLUB**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Statement of Financial Activities**|**2023/2024**|**2022/2023**|
|**30th April 2024**|**(12 months)**|**(12 months)**|
|**Income**|||
|Annual subscriptions|90,623|62,200|
|Bank Interest|510|133|
|Grants, Donantions & Sponsorships|1,700|5,918|
|HMRC Gift Aid|36,286|-|
|Other Income|13|412|
|**Total Income**|**129,132**|**68,663**|
|**Expenses**|||
|CRC Fees|30|210|
|Clothing & Equipment|33,412|17,237|
|Insurance|624|812|
|Other Expenses|5,959|5,291|
|Pitch Hire|45,865|37,510|
|Subscriptions Payable|-|160|
|Professional Coaching|22,094|9,216|
|Trophies|3,122|1,042|
|Team & Player Registration|2,343|1,831|
|Referee Fees|6,642|3,610|
|**Total Expense**|**120,091**|**76,919**|
||||
|**Operating Surplus/ (Deficit)**|**9,041**|**(8,256)**|



|**WOKING BOYS & GIRLS CLUB**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Balance Sheet**|**30 April 2024**|**30 April 2023**|
|**ASSETS**|||
|**Cash & Bank Accounts**|||
|- Barclays Bank Club Treasury Account|4,637|876|
|- Barclays Bank Club Deposit Account|54,233|48,953|
|**TOTAL ASSETS**|58,870|49,829|
|**LIABILITIES**|-|-|
|**EQUITY**|||
|- Club Reserves|51,714|42,673|
|- Benevolent Reserves|7,156|7,156|
|**TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY**|58,870|49,829|



Approved by the Treasurer John Mould 29 December 2024 



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