NEWINGTON VILLAGE CONSTITUTION
1 TITLE
The Club shall be called Newington Village Football Club, and shall be affiliated to the Kent County Football Association.
2 OBJECTIVES
To provide League and Cup football for all properly registered players within such Leagues and Competitions as shall be decided by the Management Committee at the commencement of the season.
3 MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to all irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, creed, colour, social status or sexual orientation.
4 MANAGEMENT
The Management of Newington Village Football Club shall be vested in the Club Management Committee herein after called "the Committee", who shall have power to co-opt members, form sub-committees, make rules subject to approval of members and whose authority shall be permanent.
5 OFFICERS
The Officers of the Committee shall consist of the Chairperson, Club Secretary (responsible for registrations and fixtures), Treasurer and one further elected club member who shall hold office for one year and be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. These persons shall form the General Committee of the Club.
6 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Management Committee shall comprise the General Committee of the Club and the management team:
a) with the proviso that such team manager(s) shall have been appointed by the General Committee after having been proposed and seconded at the AGM. In the event that there are more than one proposed for the position of Team Manager at the AGM, the General Committee shall decide who will be appointed and serve on the Management Committee.
7 VOTING
All members of the Committee shall have full voting rights, except in any case where a complaint against a Committee Member is being considered, when such member should absent him/herself from that part of the proceedings. A Committee member should have the right to vote by proxy if he/she so wishes.
8 CHAIRPERSON
The elected Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Committee, but in the Chairperson's absence, a Chairperson shall be elected from among those present who, in the case of equal votes, shall have a casting vote.
9 CLUB SECRETARY
The Secretary shall convene all meetings, shall keep regular Minutes, and communicate such matters as are relevant to others members of the Committee.
The Secretary should also:
a. keep a register of players and their registration numbers;
b. keep a record of all matches played by the Club, the players who have taken part, and all details of results.
c. receive confirmation from and communicate confirmation to opposition clubs and referees in respect of fixtures, and communicate results to League Officials, in such a manner as to comply with the League regulations for the time being in force.
11 TREASURER
The Treasurer shall keep a computer record of all transactions made by the Club; produce an Income and Expenditure Account together with a Balance Sheet as at 15th May each year, which is to be presented in time for the AGM.
12 POWERS OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Management Committee, or any duly appointed Sub-Committee shall conduct the business of the Club, shall have the power to deal with any offending member, and shall deal with any matters arising connected with the Club. It shall have the powers to hear complaints, or arbitrate in any disputes, receive and discuss suggestions from any member, and co-opt members for specific purposes at any time during its term of office, or fill any vacancy on the Committee itself caused by absence or resignation.
13 GENERAL MEETINGS OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
A Committee Meeting shall be convened within fourteen days by the Secretary at the request of the Chairperson, or by written notice from two or more members of the Committee, or by written notice from eight Club members. In any event the Committee is to meet at intervals not exceeding ten weeks. Four at Management Committee meetings and eight at Annual General Meetings shall constitute a quorum, though this may be amended at the discretion of the Management Committee.
14 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The AGM shall be held not later than 28 days after the final league fixture of each season and it shall receive reports from the Chairperson and Secretary, together with the Financial Statement for the past season from the Treasurer, consider the rules and amendments and transact any other admissible business.
At the meeting the Officers and co-opted members shall be proposed, seconded and elected and propositions for the appointment of Team Managers will be received. At least fourteen days notice of the meeting shall be given and all registered members shall be entitled to attend with full voting rights. The method of voting shall be by show of hands or by ballot as the Chairperson directs, each member present being entitled to one vote. An application in writing, signed by eight members, will be sufficient to cause the Secretary to convene a Special General Meeting.
15 ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Any proposed alterations to the Club Constitution may only be considered at an Annual or Special General Meeting convened with the required written notice of the proposal. Any alteration or amendment must be proposed by full members of the Club and seconded by another full member. Such alterations shall be passed if supported by not less than two-thirds of those members present at the meeting, assuming that a quorum has been achieved.
16 FIXING OF FEES
The Committee shall decide at their last meeting preceeding the AGM what recommendations they shall put to members at the AGM in respect of membership fees, match subscriptions and any other fees for the future season. All members shall then be entitled to vote at the AGM on such proposals, or make other proposals as they see fit.
17 DISCIPLINE
Club discipline is to be vested in the Team Manager(s) who have absolute discretion to take what course of action would seem fit to maintain the standard of conduct expected of Club members both on and off the field of play, provided that notice of the discipline and the reason for it is given to such member. Notwithstanding the responsibility of the Team Manager(s), the Management Committee may at any time take disciplinary action against a member.
18 COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If any member has cause for complaint against any other member he/she may communicate such preferably in writing to a member of the Management Committee for that complaint to be heard at the next General Meeting of the Committee. If it should involve a Committee member, he/she should be absent whilst the matter is dealt with; providing that the Committee may require one or both parties to be present to give evidence at such hearing. The findings of such a hearing are to be communicated in writing to both parties.
19 DISSOLUTION
If at any General Meeting of the Club a resolution be passed calling for the dissolution of the Club, the Secretary shall immediately convene a Special General Meeting to be held not less than one month thereafter to discuss and vote on the resolution. If at that Special General Meeting the resolution is carried by at least two-thirds of members present at the meeting, the General Committee shall thereupon, or at such date as shall have been specified in the resolution, proceed to realise the assets of the Club and discharge all debts and liabilities of the Club. After discharging all debts and liabilities of the Club, the remaining assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst the members of the Club, but shall be given or transferred to some other voluntary organisation having objects similar to those of the Club.
20 INTERPRETATION
Any question arising on the construction of this constitution or of any matter not herein provided for shall be referred to the Committee whose decision shall be final.