Introduction The Red & White Army (RAWA) have been busy the past couple of weeks, working with legal experts on our constitution whilst our Chairman Andrew Hird had an introductory meeting with SAFC CEO Martin Bain last Tuesday. We would have liked to have provided feedback on the meeting a little earlier, but we decided to get everything else in order first and provide a more comprehensive update of overall progress of the group. Meeting with SAFC CEO As this was only an introductory meeting we will not be providing documented minutes of the encounter. It is anticipated that we will enter into a proper structured dialogue with the club soon, and we will provide minutes of every meeting going forward. The purpose of the meeting (attended by the RAWA chairman Andrew Hird and Sunderland CEO Martin Bain) was intended for SAFC to better understand the purpose and structure of RAWA, and for RAWA to set out our intentions regarding Structured Dialogue for this season and hopefully years to come. A further informal meeting will be scheduled soon, where we hope to confirm a process for Structured Dialogue. The Club were clear that they want to improve dialogue with supporters, and they recognise the benefits that RAWA might bring. RAWA acknowledged that there are existing routes for dialogue via the Supporter Liaison Group, Branch Liaison Committee and SAFCSA and reiterated that we are not looking to replace any of these existing arrangements. We have created co-opt places for each existing group within our own structure, and we hope to work with them. We explained that we are not a group of supporters that are merely reacting to the club's current situation. We aim to build a working relationship with the club this season and will hold an AGM in the summer of 2018. In the meantime, we would like to schedule regular meetings with the club and actively seek supporter opinion and input on all manner of club activity. We will be reaching out to all the co-opted areas, along with input from social media platforms. Overall the meeting was a productive one, but it was just an introduction. The Club, quite rightly, wanted to make sure we won't end up being a small, insular group, and RAWA wanted to seek assurances that there's a possibility of creating meaningful, structured dialogue. We now hope to work with the club to set out a schedule looking at the structured dialogue for the rest of the season in the follow up meeting that is occurring at some point in the next couple of weeks.
RAWA Structure and Officers As a new organisation we thought it would be a good idea to provide a diagram that illustrates how the organisation is structured. We will hold the first AGM after the end of the current season when, amongst other items, members will vote on the officer roles. The group of supporters who created RAWA felt it was important to have a period of continuity in personnel, during which a process of engagement with the club will hopefully have bedded in. We have provided a short summary on the backgrounds of each of the officers. If you want to get in touch with RAWA about anything at all please email info@redandwhitearmy.co.uk.
Andrew Hird Chair Andrew Hird is the Red & White Army s Chair and is a development planning consultant by profession. Andrew has been involved in planning and community consultation for some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK. He was responsible for an engagement framework for a large wind farm development in North Wales and has undertaken consultation elements for a large on-shore connection project in England. Andrew hopes that his experience of community consultation and engagement can be transferable to his role as Chair as we pursue structure dialogue with Sunderland AFC. Andrew s first game watching Sunderland AFC was against Stoke City, where he encountered every weather condition possible whilst standing in the Clock Stand. Since then Andrew has held a season ticket for the last 23 years and sits in the North-West corner. Jane Hughes Vice Chair Jane Hughes is a teacher and is a north-east based member of the London and South of England Branch. Jane sits in the North Stand and has been a season ticket holder for 25 years. Jane is also the BLC treasurer. Jane notes that following Sunderland home and away for over 30 years has demonstrated the need for a strong and independent supporter s voice. She goes on to say that supporters deserve to be heard by Sunderland AFC and not just through social media, but via structured dialogue that can lead to a genuine improvement between the Club and its supporters. Michael McAllister Vice Chair Michael is 25 years old and has been a season ticket holder for 12 years. Michael travels to as many away games as possible, and is a member of the Sunderland Supporters Association. Michael got involved with the Red & White Army as he felt it was time that Sunderland Supporters had a strong voice which encompasses all sections of our support. Michael has experience of canvassing opinions, collating information and providing feedback and feels that this will be useful in his role of vice chair.
David Rose Policy Co-ordinator As Policy Co-ordinator, Dave will advise on policy and strategy to make sure we are striving to meet the aims of the organisation. He will be drawing on his experience as Deputy CEO of the Football Supporters Federation where he works with supporter organisations throughout England and Wales. He takes part in Structured Dialogue on a national level with the Premier League and Football League. He has a central role in co-ordinating the FSF s successful 20s Plenty Campaign, which secured a price cap of 30 for all Premier League away tickets. Dave has been a Sunderland supporter all of his life, and his first game was a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at a floodlit Roker Park in 1985. Cath Reid Secretary Cath attended her first Sunderland game in the 1974 season against Preston North End, and continued going for a several years until work commitments meant she missed matches for a period of time. Cath got the bug back in the early 90 s and has gone ever since. Cath is secretary of the Hebburn Branch Supporters Association, a role she has held for over 10 years, where she also arranges away match tickets and travel for their members. Cath began to represent the branch at the Branch Liaison Council (BLC) where she meets with representatives of Sunderland AFC. For the last three years Cath has acted as a liaison between BLC branches and Northumbria Police and the British Transport Police. Cath, along with fellow branch secretaries, attended a meeting with Northumbria Police and Sunderland AFC to remove the planned bubble trip to Newcastle - the result of which saw the instruction for future bubble trips withdrawn. Ryan Griffiths Treasurer Ryan is the treasurer and will handle any expenses and finances associated with the organisation. He is a civil servant that has worked for HM Revenue and Customs since 2008, and has been involved in handling the tax affairs of some of the largest companies in the UK. Ryan has also spent time as chair and treasurer of a branch of the PCS Union, where he was responsible for the overall running of the branch as well as its budget and expenses. As with everyone involved with the Red & White Army, he has followed Sunderland AFC through the good times and the much more frequent bad times.
Co-opted Representation We have listed above (shown in the organogram) the areas where we felt it appropriate to have a co-opted rep. Coopted member will be able to vote at "committee" meetings (we're not keen on the term committee - alternative suggestions welcome!). The co-opted representatives will represent the views of their constituencies to the best of their ability and will be expected to attend meetings. As we are all volunteers, and aware of the demands on time, co-opts can always appoint someone else to attend on their behalf if they can't attend themselves. You'll note that there are a few areas where we have yet to confirm a representative. We don't envisage any major issues filling these positions, but we recognise that it isn't straight forward for certain groups to decide on which individual they d like to elect. We do not wish to tell any entity how to decide who will represent them. We completely understand how difficult it can be to represent potentially large constituencies and the whole range of views that come with it. If any potential representative would like to discuss a way forward, please get in touch with David Rose at David.rose@fsf.org.uk. We have set a deadline of 5th November for representatives to be agreed. If Structured Dialogue with the club develops in the way that we would like it to there ll be a need to develop a number of working parties that will look at various areas of work - Governance and Finance for instance (any accountants in the membership please get in touch) and match-day experience issues (any members like beer and pies?). We will be looking for members to come forward with varying skills and experience. We want to emphasise that you don't have to be an officer or a co-opted representative to be actively involved. RAWA is not a closed shop and the officers do not presume that they and co-opts have the answers to everything. If you want to get involved or have any input at all please email info@redandwhitearmy.co.uk. In the meantime, if you've got this far you may still have an appetite to learn more about RAWA, so here is our constitution.
Rules and Constitution of the Red & White Army The Independent Supporters Association for Sunderland Supporters 1. NAME The name of the organisation shall be the Red and White Army, hereafter referred to as RAWA. 2. OBJECTS The objects of RAWA shall be to: a) Represent Sunderland supporters on issues decided by its members through a process of Structured Dialogue with SAFC. b) Establish and maintain channels of communication with the Owners, Executives and Management of SAFC. c) Promote, maintain and value the history and identity of SAFC and its supporters. d) Encourage the Owners, Executives and Management of SAFC to appreciate, welcome and value the support and participation of all Sunderland fans, and ensure that equal opportunities are promoted for all supporters. e) Affiliate to appropriate football supporters organisations. f) Represent Sunderland supporters in national structured dialogue via the appropriate platform. 3. MEMBERSHIP (a) Membership of RAWA shall be available free of charge to all Sunderland supporters. (b) Membership fees shall be as determined by the committee, and must be confirmed by vote of members at the following Annual General Meeting (AGM). Concessions will be available to eligible members. (c) All applications for full membership shall be reported to the following Committee meeting by the Membership Secretary, and membership rights shall start immediately following the Committee s endorsement. (d) Should the Committee reject an application, the applicant shall be duly notified and have the right of appeal at the next committee meeting.
(e) Membership is for life unless cancelled by the member or by the Committee. (f) All members are entitled to attend and fully participate and vote at the AGM and any EGM. (g) Members may attend and participate in Committee meetings at the discretion of the chair of the meeting. (h) Any member bringing RAWA into disrepute and or violating the code of conduct shall render themselves liable to expulsion. A member may be suspended and recommended for expulsion by a special majority vote of the Committee, but shall not be expelled until s/he has received a full hearing before a disciplinary panel established by the Committee. The member shall have a full opportunity to answer all allegations against her/him before a decision on expulsion is taken by the panel. Any member expelled shall have the right of appeal at the following AGM. (i) Disciplinary procedure: A disciplinary panel will be established with no less than three committee members present. The committee Chair or Vice-Chair should be present at any disciplinary hearing. Members facing a disciplinary panel may elect a representative to assist with their defence. If no representative can be found, members may request a representative to be appointed by RAWA, who will assist without prejudice. Safeguarding will take place to prevent conflict of interest. The disciplinary panel must decide with a 66% majority for members to be removed from RAWA. ii) Appeal procedure: All members have the right to an appeal following expulsion from RAWA. Appeals shall be submitted in writing. Submitted appeals will be reviewed within 28 days by way of a committee meeting. Appellants have the right to make a statement giving explanation of their appeal. The committee Chair will summarise the Appellant s argument for members at the following AGM. Members will then take a vote without the appellant present. The appellant must receive a 66% majority vote for membership to be reinstated. Appellant will be notified of decision with an explanation from the Chair. The appellant will either be removed from all associations with RAWA if the appeal fails, or the appellant will be reinstated with warning. Warning period is for 3 months, with warning status officially removed at the next committee meeting following cessation of the warning period. Further violation of code of conduct during warning period will result in immediate expulsion. (I) Members personal details shall be stored securely and shall not be passed to a third party without the member s written consent, unless there is a legal requirement for RAWA to do so.
(j) Membership records shall be kept by the Secretary, on behalf of RAWA, and shall be available to all members of the Committee. 4. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE ELECTIONS (a) The period of office for Officers and other Committee members shall be from the conclusion of the AGM at which the Committee is declared as elected to the conclusion of the AGM the following year. (b) All officers shall be members of the Committee with full voting rights. (c) All members shall be entitled to stand for election for any Officer or Committee member position. (d) The Committee shall be entitled to co-opt members to the Committee and shall ensure any such co-options are reported to the next AGM. (e) Co-opted reps have full voting rights at Committee meetings. (f) The Committee shall be entitled to fill any vacancy occurring during the year and shall ensure any such co-options are reported to the next AGM. (g) The length of term for initial Officers on the group s formation shall be until the first AGM, where the inaugural election can take place. 5. OFFICERS The Officers of RAWA shall be the Chair, 2x Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Policy Coordinator. The Officers shall collectively take decisions and actions on matters between AGM and Committee meetings, such as public statements and attendance at meetings. Normal duties of the Officers shall include: (a) Chair and (2x) Vice-Chair The Chair shall chair all RAWA meetings at which s/he is present. In her/his absence the Vice-Chair shall take the chair. In the absence of both the Chair and Vice-Chair the meeting shall appoint a chair from amongst its number.
It is the duty of the chair of Committee meetings to ensure all views of those present are heard at the meeting. In the event of a tie the chair of all meetings shall have an additional casting vote. (b) Secretary The Secretary shall be responsible for circulating an agenda and relevant papers to those present at Committee meetings prior to the commencement of the meeting. The Secretary shall produce draft minutes of the Committee meetings, to be agreed as accurate, subject to any amendments, by the Committee. The Secretary shall convene the AGM on a date agreed by the Committee, and will make all the arrangements for the meeting, including arranging an appropriate venue and providing an agenda for the meeting. The Secretary shall arrange to publicise Committee Meetings to all members. (c) Treasurer The Treasurer shall ensure that adequate financial records are kept, and shall be responsible for the proper administration of RAWA s financial affairs. The Treasurer will be responsible for ensuring that RAWA s funds are maintained in a RAWA account as decided from time to time by the RAWA Committee. Withdrawals from the account shall be by authorised signature of at least two Officers. The Treasurer shall submit a statement of balances, and an income and expenditure account, to the AGM in the year following that to which the accounts relate. The Treasurer shall supply full records of the RAWA s financial transactions and a statement of balances and an income and expenditure accounts to two elected auditors at the end of the financial year. The financial year of RAWA shall be 1 June to 31 st May. RAWA s accounts shall be maintained by the Treasurer, on behalf of the Committee. 6. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
(a) An AGM should be held once annually on or around the close of the football season. (b) The Secretary shall ensure that all members are sent notification of the date, time, place and agenda for the AGM not less than fourteen days before it is due to take place. (c) The Secretary shall ensure that copies of the Minutes of the previous AGM and a RAWA Annual Report are available at the AGM. (d) The Annual Report shall contain statements on their work during the year from the Officers and committee members. (e) The Treasurer will be responsible for ensuring that a balance sheet and an income and expenditure account is provided in writing to the AGM in the year following that to which the accounts relate. (f) The quorum for the AGM shall be ten members. (g) Should the AGM not be quorate thirty minutes after the published starting time the meeting shall be adjourned to a date not more than two months after the inquorate meeting. All members shall be notified of the new date by the Secretary. 7. COMMITTEE MEETINGS a) The Committee shall consist of all Officers and Committee members, whether elected at the AGM, or subsequently co-opted. b) At least four Committee Meetings shall be held each year, at a venue within the City of Sunderland. c) RAWA policy shall be determined at Committee Meetings, subject to ratification at the next Annual General Meeting. d) The Committee can, by majority vote, decide to hold a ballot of members on any matter it so decides. The result of any ballot shall be binding on the Committee, and may only be changed by decision of the AGM or an EGM. e) In cases of urgency the Officers may decide policy by majority decision, and shall report all such decisions to the next Committee meeting.
f) The quorum for Committee meetings shall be four elected members of the Committee, one of whom must be an Officer. g) It is the duty of all Officers present to ensure the views of members not present but are communicated to the officer prior to the meeting are reported accordingly. h) All Committee members shall be entitled to vote on all matters before the Committee. The chair of the meeting shall have an additional vote in the event of a tie. Votes will normally be by an open show of hands. A secret ballot will be held if requested by at least one-third of the Committee members present. i) The Committee shall strive to ensure that RAWA s structures, meetings, communications mechanisms and employment policies respect and promote the concept of equal opportunities. j) The Committee shall establish such sub-committees as it considers necessary. Each sub-committee shall appoint a Committee member as chair, to report on the activities and decisions of the sub-committee. Sub-committee s decisions must be endorsed by Committee meetings before they are acted upon. k) The Committee shall employ such staff as is necessary to properly pursue the objects of RAWA. l) The Committee shall establish or support charitable trusts, associations or institutions in line with the objects of RAWA. m) The Committee has the power to do all such lawful things as are necessary for the achievement of the objects. n) Minutes shall be kept of all decisions taken by the Committee, once agreed by the Committee, they shall be available to all members. 8. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS An EGM may be called: a) By resolution of the majority of the Committee, or
b) By members constituting at least 25% of the total number of members submitting written notice to the Secretary of their desire for such a meeting. c) The Secretary shall convene an EGM within six weeks of receipt of such a requisition unless agreed otherwise with the requisitioners. The Secretary shall send notice of and the agenda for the EGM to all supporting members not less than seven days before the date of the EGM. d) The quorum at EGMs shall be twenty members. e) With the exception of dissolution (see below), resolutions may be passed at an EGM with the approval of a majority of members present, provided the meeting is quorate. 9. AMENDMENTS TO THESE RULES a) Amendments to these rules may be proposed by the Committee or by any member. b) Any proposed amendment from a member to these rules shall be submitted to the Secretary in writing not less than seven days prior to the date of the AGM or EGM called for the purpose. c) An amendment to these Rules shall require a two-thirds majority of members present at the AGM or EGM. 10. DISSOLUTION (a) A motion to dissolve RAWA shall only be considered at an AGM or EGM of which all members have received at least four weeks written notice. The notice of the meeting shall contain the motion to dissolve the Association. A motion to dissolve RAWA may be proposed by the Committee or by a proposal signed by at least 25% of members. (b) To dissolve RAWA three-quarters of the members present must vote in favour of a resolution proposing dissolution. (c) On the dissolution of the organisation, once any debts have been settled, any outstanding
monies or property of the association shall be given to an organisation with similar aims and objectives. The beneficiary organisation shall be as decided by the Committee. (d) It will be the responsibility of the former Officers of RAWA to dissolve the organisation in line with the wishes expressed at the General Meeting. 11. CODE OF CONDUCT All members, Officers and associates of RAWA shall be committed to: a) Supporting, promoting, and furthering the objects of RAWA. b) Rejecting violence, abusive behaviour, or discrimination in any form. c) Making RAWA an inclusive and welcoming group that represents SAFC fans from all backgrounds. d) Recognising that decisions made by RAWA are reached democratically by way of ballot, and respecting the outcome of each ballot. All members, Officers and associates of RAWA shall be prohibited from: i) Making communications in the name of RAWA without express permission. ii) iii) iv) Profiting from activity associated with RAWA without express permission. Complicating or sabotaging the objects, activities or communications of the RAWA. Bringing RAWA into disrepute by any other means.