How does it work? How much does it cost? Your questions answered here.
- What is the MyFootballClub Society?
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MyFootball Club Society Ltd is the Industrial and Provident Society which owns Ebbsfleet United.
An IPS was chosen as the most appropriate legal vehicle for the venture, aimed at organisations "conducting an industry, business or trade, either as a co-operative or for the benefit of the community, and is registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965." (Source: FSA)
There are currently about 3,000 members of the MyFootballClub Society.
The rules for the Society can be found here.
- Who actually owns the Club?
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The MyFootballClub Society holds 75% of the shares in Ebbsfleet United, the other 25% shareholders include the former owners, Directors and the Fleet Trust.
- How much does it cost to be a member?
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Basic membership is £50 per year, about the same as a day out at a Premiership game, or a couple of computer games.
- Can I pay in installments?
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We are currently working on a new system for Quarterly payments of £15. If you email email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it we can keep you up to date on developments.
- Can I buy more than one share?
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No. It's strictly one share, one vote per member. MyFC is a not-for-profit entity, so you can't make any profit from selling the share and there's no dividend paid. If you want to give an extra bit to support the Club, how about buying extra years' membership in advance, or guest memberships for your friends or even a straight forward donation to either the Club or the Society
- Where does my subscription fee go?
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The entire subscription fee goes into MyFootballClub's account. Periodically, if there is a shortfall in the income stream, a drawdown of cash will be requested by the Club accountant, and sanctioned by members vote. For the 2008/2009 cash drawdowns totalled £186,000. A proportion of the funds received also goes to running the Society itself.
- How many members are there?
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There are currently around 3000 members of the MyFootballClub Society.
- Can fans see how other fans have already voted before they conduct their vote?
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It's a fundamental principle that votes are anonymous, that way we can all vote for the option we think is right.
- What's with the new website?
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Whilst the current website serves the Society ok, it's a customised platform that we've inherited, isn't adaptable to our needs, and doesn't have a public facing element.
This platform allows us to cross-pollinate with Facebook and Twitter, to keep members and the public up to date with what's happening at MyFootballClub. Later on we plan to extend the platform to the rest of the site.
- Is MyFootballClub a failure?
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This is an accusation we've had levelled at us many times from the press, disgruntled fans, and members themselves.
MyFootballClub was launched in 2007 with no precedent to follow and learn from, and yet managed to raise enough funding and support to buy Ebbsfleet and clear the crippling debt. In the subsequent years, we've created and revised our own democratic structures and worked to put more and more decisions in the hands of members.
Crucially, we've supported the club financially in the depths of a recession, with individual members making additional contributions to the membership fee in lean times. Other clubs within our league and right the way up to the Premier League have gone into administration or closed altogether in that period.
- Where can I check terms & conditions etc?
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IN the Process of being Updated
You can view Terms & Conditions for payment, membership and the Rules of the MyFootballClub Society IPS here.
NB: These are still in the process of being updated, as the role of the "Operator" ceased to exist in December 2009. Where you see "Operator" think "Society".
- Where can I contact someone about the Society or Club?
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Contact details for the Society and the Club are here.
