Update on the non-executive director position
Carlisle United Football Club can confirm that they have taken the difficult decision to withdraw the positon of Fans Representative on the board for the coming season 2016/17.
This decision has been taken due to the low number of applications received for the position.
The position, created ahead of the start of last season, was taken up by Claire Winder following a public vote and included attendance of CUFC 1921 Ltd board meetings and the chairing of the Carlisle United Supporters’ Groups (CUSG) planning meetings.
Finance director Suzanne Kidd said: “We’re really disappointed that it appears that the appetite and support for the position is no longer there from the fans. As a board, we feel it has been very useful and valuable to have a fan representative both in the boardroom and active around the club.
“Claire was the first person to take the position and she made huge strides in establishing the role in what we felt was a very positive way. We’d hoped to be able to carry that on, and to further develop the role, but the low number of applicants means that won’t be possible in the coming season.
“We remain committed to regular meetings with CUSG, which has representatives from all of our supporter organisations, and we are determined to keep as many lines of communication open as we possibly can. It is planned for the Holdings Board to appear on local radio and to host a Fans’ Forum ahead of the new season, and chairman Andrew Jenkins has stated recently that he is willing to talk face-to-face with anyone who has any concerns at all.
“Both myself and Sales and Marketing Director Phil King are available at any time to address any issues fans may have on an operational level and our busy and very well used social media channels remain an extremely useful way for supporters from far and wide to pass on their comments and thoughts.
“We will continue to produce notes from all CUFC 1921 Ltd board meetings and we will be conducting in-depth surveys on an annual basis to allow us to address all areas of the club.”
Carlisle United Football Club would like to thank those people who applied for the Fan Representative 2016/17 position for taking the time to contact the club and apologise that the low number of three applicants this year, compared to 12 applicants last year, means we are unable to give the process of selection the validity it requires.
