Club constitution advice

Specialk36

Evening all
I am the Secteary of a local football club ... Been for the last few months .. Have just found out that we have no club constitution .. So we are looking to bring one in ... A few members of our committee are not on board (2 people) old folk ... I have got advice that as its a new constitution that we as a committee vote the constitution in as its the 1st one ... And then at the next AGM if anybody wants to change it .. They have put there points forward for change .... They 2 people old fashioned people are saying no ... We have to take the constitution to the AGM and let the members vote .. But we have no members if we have no constitution ... Is there anywhere in black and white that shows we as a committee have to
Vote it in first and then go to the AGM ?? I am pulling my hair out at this stage ?

Thanks in advance

CIARAN_BOYLE

What are you at the moment. If there's no constitution are you an unincorporated trust? Is there a trust deed.

Basically find out what you are then we can work out what the rules are for you.

Specialk36

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

What are you at the moment. If there's no constitution are you an unincorporated trust? Is there a trust deed.

Basically find out what you are then we can work out what the rules are for you.

Hi Ciaran
We are just a club ... It was a family run club up until a year ago they all stepped down and new blood came in.
We don't have any land or assets so just a club affiliated to the fai and Kdul.

Losty Dublin

If you are a football club then contact the association that you belong to and ask them for guidance in drafting one up. It need not be too dramatic; something to cover the rules of membership, the makeup of committee and terms of office, powers vested in the committee, who appoints coaches, spending limits, holding of assets and the like. You will find that a child welfare officer has to be appointed if your's is a underage club but your association can help you with things like this.

Always number 1

When you say football I presume you mean soccer so maybe have a look at the information below and maybe contact the FAI for guidance: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/recreational_activities_in_ireland/setting_up_a_new_club.html

Alternatively, if you need guidance on doing up a constitution have a look at this information on the Sport Ireland website: 9_Membership_Development/9_4_Club_Development
Hope this helps :-)

plodder

If you have members already who have paid a subscription to join, or failing that even a documented list of members, then I think that would be the starting point. You would hold an EGM or AGM of those members to vote on adopting a proposed constitution. That's how it was done with a group I was involved with once. If the club doesn't have any members then maybe the committee would set it up first. But, I find it hard to imagine how a club with a committee would have no members ..?

Specialk36

plodder wrote: »

If you have members already who have paid a subscription to join, or failing that even a documented list of members, then I think that would be the starting point. You would hold an EGM or AGM of those members to vote on adopting a proposed constitution. That's how it was done with a group I was involved with once. If the club doesn't have any members then maybe the committee would set it up first. But, I find it hard to imagine how a club with a committee would have no members ..?

Hi plodder


This is the problem at the moment we have ..
If the committee don't approve the 1st constitution but instead decide to draft the constitution and them hold an AGM to get the AGM to adopted that consitustion it would be then mental because if someone that wasn't a member of the club wanted to vote at the AGM they couldn't be stopped because they could rightly say that we didn't have a constitution saying that they couldn't vote. Also if there were 20 people at the AGM there could be 20 different views on every single item in the proposed constitution which would just never work.

Losty Dublin

Specialk36 wrote: »

Hi plodder


This is the problem at the moment we have ..
If the committee don't approve the 1st constitution but instead decide to draft the constitution and them hold an AGM to get the AGM to adopted that consitustion it would be then mental because if someone that wasn't a member of the club wanted to vote at the AGM they couldn't be stopped because they could rightly say that we didn't have a constitution saying that they couldn't vote. Also if there were 20 people at the AGM there could be 20 different views on every single item in the proposed constitution which would just never work.

Any group or association that I've even been a party to has always held EGM's aka Extraordinary General Meetings whenever there needed to be changes made to a constitution. Hold your EGM, ratify whatever changes that need to be made then hold your AGM.

Specialk36

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Any group or association that I've even been a party to has always held EGM's aka Extraordinary General Meetings whenever there needed to be changes made to a constitution. Hold your EGM, ratify whatever changes that need to be made then hold your AGM.

But we don't have a constitution ... We are bringing one in for the first time. So I don't think an EGM will work as we will have no members to vote. It's all very confusing ... I am just trying to find out if the committee need to vote in the first constitution and then at the next AGM when we have fully paid members who can vote on changes. Sorry if I am repeating myself.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Specialk36 wrote: »

Hi Ciaran
We are just a club ... It was a family run club up until a year ago they all stepped down and new blood came in.
We don't have any land or assets so just a club affiliated to the fai and Kdul.

Right what's the legal form of the club as is. Does it have a bank account. If so the bank account will have a name on it. If it's the club name the club is something more than a name but has a legal structure.

That legal structure will set out who the trustees/directors/members whatever are.

If you dont have anything like that if there's a membership fee that should be your definition of members. No one who hasn't paid prior to a set date will be entitled to vote.

As to having 20 views on every issue, there will be two views on every issue, yes and no.

surrender monkey

The fai have guides on their website, I don't know if you have already seen them? I can't post links but google is your friend

hullaballoo

Moderator: This is very much in the legal advice territory at this stage.

OP, go to a solicitor in order to regularise club matters including the proper adoption of a constitution.

Thread closed.