The End of The VP Club?

Members of the HUFC Vice Presidents Club have today received an undated letter signed by Graham Turner and Joan Fennessy telling them that their Club is being taken over by The Football Club. The letter cites the recent resignation of VP Chairman, Veronica Richardson, and the apparent historical difficulty in getting members to join the committee as reason for the takeover. Veronica Richardson is, of course, the lady who fairly recently took ownership of largish block of HUFC shares.

"In view of that situation, the Board of Directors have taken the decision to bring the organisation of The Vice President’s Club under the auspices of the Football Club."

There is some question over the legality of this action as the VP Club is of course subject to the member's constitution which says that the Club will be run by an elected administrative committee. In short, The VP Club is owned by its members and any major change in its operation would normally come about only following an AGM or EGM. The Football Club, as "Landlords" of the premises in which the VP Club is located will have say over the property but is it entitled to simply "take over" a members club? The other issue that might not have been considered is the licensing of the premises for the consumption of alcohol. The present license will be in the name of the committee or, more likely, one of its members. Any change of ownership would probably require a new license without which no alcohol could be sold on the premises.

As far as Bulls News is aware, there has been no prior notification to members regarding this action, no AGM and no EGM. It is likely that many members will see this as another wedge being driven between the fans and The Club.

The letter closes by inviting members to renew membership for the coming season. At this stage, it's not clear how the Football Club can collect membership fees for a Club whose ownership transfer has not been subject to rules contained in its own constitution.

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