There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes at Oldham Athletic Supporters’ Foundation. Here’s a round-up of our key activities from the past few months.
Securing OAFC’s Future
We’ve been speaking to individuals and groups who have expressed a potential interest in buying the club, or moving it forward from its current position. We’re keen to do our best to help make sure the correct fit is found for both OAFC and supporters.
Given that one of the interested parties has made their intentions public, we felt it right to update you on our activities more broadly. We are not giving specific details at this time at the request of the other interested parties.
We also feel it is important to note that when we released an update on 4th March, we did so in the interest of transparency, not to show favour to any particular group.
At this stage, we can confirm that we have been in contact with three parties (one of those being Chris Lees). There has been interest from both the UK and abroad, with parties having varying experiences engaging with sports teams and governing bodies. We have spoken to two of the parties so far, and plan to speak to the third next week. We also plan to have follow-up talks as appropriate.
There was a fourth group who showed an initial interest, but they haven’t been in contact since Christmas time so we have to assume they are not moving ahead at this time.
We would like to invite any groups already engaging with the club or otherwise to contact us at hello@oldhamathleticsupportersfoundation.com. As a shareholder and representatives of over 1000 fans, we feel anyone with the fans at heart would see engagement with OASF as a positive move.
Key Meetings
OASF Director Darren Mills, along with representatives from Push the Boundary, met with GM Mayor Andy Burnham earlier in the week. Andy has pledged his support, with a commitment to meet us again for an update and contact the EFL on the fans’ behalf.
We met with the Fan Led Group to discuss their recent acquisition of Oldham Events Centre and Glo Gym. We are keen to keep lines of communication open and would like to meet again in the near future to discuss plans.
We’ve arranged to meet with Steve Brown, General Manager at OAFC, to obtain further information on the club’s position. At this meeting, we will be asking the club to provide an update directly to the fans.
COMING SOON! OASF Pop-up in Market Hall on Match Days
We’ve agreed with OMBC and Tommyfield Market that we can use some space in the market hall. You’ll soon be able to find us right beside the Cob & Coal pub, pre-match on a Saturday.
We’ll be available to answer any questions, take donations for the 1895 fund & help with lottery sign ups. You’ll also find any future fundraising merchandise on the stall with us too. We’ll announce the start of these sessions on our social channels, so keep an eye out for the first one.
If you have an idea for fundraising merchandise to raise money for the 1895 fund, please contact us at hello@oldhamathleticsupportersfoundation.com .
Board Changes
Jason Partington-Russell, co-opted director of OASF has resigned in order to devote more time to his job, following a recent promotion. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Jason for his sterling work and wish him luck in his new role. Jason wants to continue supporting OASF and has expressed an interest in helping out as a volunteer.
OASF is a people-led group and we welcome interest from anyone who might like to join us in a director role. There’s no obligation, and you can come along to our meetings as a volunteer first to get a feel for who we are and what we do. We currently have a volunteer who is attending our board meetings who may wish to be co-opted onto the board in future. If you want to know more, or to have an informal chat, please get in touch with us at hello@oldhamathleticsupportersfoundation.com.
Results of 1895 Contingency fund Consultation
At the start of the year, we asked members to complete a survey regarding potential uses of the 1895 Fund. Your responses informed a proposal which we then put to a member vote. The results of that vote show members who responded are strongly in favour of taking that proposal forward. 363 members responded, with over 90% agreeing with the proposal. For transparency, we had 329 respondents before we extended the deadline and the approval was still over 90%.
OASF Finances
Our financial year ended on the 31st of January and full accounts will be published to meet Companies House requirements. We can report that cash balances increased by 120% over the year and we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to this figure over the last 12 months.
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