by Gareth H Thomas
Cardiff RFC Ltd (CRFC) is a rugby club currently running two teams ? the Cardiff Blues (CB) and Cardiff RFC (the Welsh Premiership side).
The club?s teams play their home games at Cardiff Arms Park (CAP).
In 2003, the company signed up to a Participation Agreement (PA) which committed it to working within a pre-defined region allocated by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The exact contents of the PA have never been made public, but from that date onwards the club started to call the first XV ?a region?.
The Cardiff Athletic Club (CAC) is a private members sporting club consisting of a number of sections.
Share ownership of CRFC (as per the 2007 shareholders report) is as follows
* including 750,000 Heritage shares
** chairman of CRFC
The land on which CAP is situated was bequeathed to the city by the Marquis of Bute. According to the legal agreement drawn up the land must be used for sporting purposes. These shares cannot be sold and will always be the property of CAC.
CAC are run by a 16 person management committee.
*appointed by a majority of the management committee
Three members of the CAC committee sit on the board of CRFC
The original idea when it was set up was that all CAC sections would play games at the Arms Park. Hence the design was a fair spread of interests across the management committee. However as time has elapsed all except bowls & rugby have migrated elsewhere so there is now a majority of the management committee that cannot be relied upon to maintain interest in the running of CRFC.
CRFC lease use of CAP from the owners, CAC. There are 15 years left on this lease, and we have no reason to believe that it cannot be renewed beyond this date, should the club decide to do so. There is an agreement between CRFC and CAC that the upkeep of CAP is the responsibility of the limited company.
More shares cannot be released by the limited company as the percentage of heritage shares is guaranteed in the club?s constitution. Furthermore, under the club?s constitution, no one can own more than 24.9% of the total number of shares. Expansion through investment is therefore problematic under the present structure. We recognize that this structure has to change.
Relationships between CAC and the rest of the board at CRFC have reached an all time low. Personality clashes has meant that the side playing in the Welsh Premiership is now being almost exclusively run by CAC with the CB run by the rest of the board of CRFC. We believe that CAC should be more involved in the running of CRFC ? as they are the majority shareholders.
If you are a member of CAC, then you have a right to express your views on how CAC is run (and therefore, by implication on how CRFC is run). To improve on the way CAC is representing your views, the constitution of CAC needs to change. Specifically, we propose modifying Rule 12 using Rule 25 at a Special General Meeting (SGM), which would require a two thirds majority of those attending the SGM.
There has been a lot of negative talk about the structure of CRFC and the role of CAC. We disagree. Properly organized, CAC can be a real force for ensuring CRFC works with the local community to ensure the success of the club. The vast majority of members of CAC are from the rugby section, but this section can be out-voted by other sections in the present organization. This is obviously undemocratic. We want to change this. We believe that a one member one vote structure would produce a committee which better represents its members. We want CAC (and the new committee that results from this more proportionally representative structure) to take a more positive and more active involvement in the running of CRFC. This does not just mean just the premiership team; it also means the CB.
Regardless of whether you are in favour or not of the club rebranding as the Blues, the move to Leckwith, the offloading of the heritage of the club onto the rags or not, the key issue to be addressed is the impass in the management of the company and the failure of all directors to work together for the developing and growth of CRFC.
This campaign is not about
We believe that the rugby members of CAC can be better represented on the board of CRFC. Fans should have a democratic say in the way the club goes forward ? how it is marketed, where it plays its game, what kit is wears, how it raises money etc.
C2A has collected the name of 30 members of CAC and an SGM will be called. When the date of this meeting is released, we need to mobilize support and ensure that a resolution is passed ensuring an immediate vote takes place to ensure a new committee is formed which is a better representation of the members interests. If you are a member of CAC, please attend this SGM.
If this resolution is passed, campaigning can begin for new committee members. We will field candidates who can make a positive impact on the board of CAC and represent the interests of members, particularly in the running of CRFC.
Only at this point will discussions take place on what those interests are, and then we can deal with weightier issues such as the proposed move to Leckwith. Involving supporters in the decision ? through a more open discussion of facts rather than media driven speculation and plain ignorance ? is the way forward.