Treasuer’s Report - October 25
October was always going to be a challenging month, with seven fixtures squeezed in and only two of them at home. As expected, this meant we recorded a deficit, but this was completely in line with the plan and simply reflects how the fixtures fell. When so many games are away from home, the income naturally drops, while travel and playing costs stay the same. Despite that, October still gave us plenty to be positive about — some great performances, brilliant support, and one of our biggest crowds so far.
The headline from October has to be the attendance figures. We only had two home matches, but those two really made an impact. The Godmanchester Rovers game saw 566 through the gate, but the standout was the local derby against Hinckley AFC, which brought 802 supporters into The Oval. That’s our biggest crowd of the season by some distance and created a fantastic occasion that clearly lifted the players. These numbers pushed our monthly home average to 684, well above September’s 505, and our season average is now edging comfortably past the 500-mark to 540. Once again, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in younger supporters and families, which is hugely encouraging for the long-term future of the club.
On the pitch, the team continued to show real spirit. The month included a busy mix of league fixtures and cup ties, starting with a hard-fought draw and penalty shoot-out win in the UCL Cup at Dronfield Town. We followed this with another competitive display against Godmanchester Rovers before the unforgettable 3–1 win over Hinckley in front of that huge crowd. Away from home we had tough trips to Easington Sports, Daventry Town and Northampton ON Chenecks, with the FA Vase tie at Stafford Town producing a dramatic 3–3 draw and another penalty shoot-out victory. Progression in both cup competitions helped bring in some extra income too, which will help future months. Along with the £825 prize money for winning the FA Vase first round tie, we received £562 in our share of the gate receipts from Stafford Town. During the month, we also receive £162 from the share of the gate receipts at Dronfield Town and £107 from Godmanchester from the league cup game in September.
Operation 600
The two home games in October pushed the average attendance up to 540, just 60 short of our “Operation 600” target. Hitting 600 would help us push as towards our “Back to Nuneaton” target from matchday income. The Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative continues to play a huge part in helping the club move forward. Membership stays strong, and the 200 Club continues to grow, providing a valuable and reliable stream of income each month. As ever, the club is incredibly grateful to everyone who takes part — initiatives like this genuinely are effective. Matchday volunteers also deserve huge credit. The Hinckley game in particular showed how the whole club pulls together, from turnstile staff to programme sellers, from those selling golden goal tickets to those helping with hospitality. Not to forget the chap selling merchandise on the Pool Table!
Focusing on merchandise, we racked up £913 sales during the month. This is somewhat lower than previous months, which is partly due to the lack of home games, but also due to the fact we are transitioning to our “Winter” merchandise lines. This is not only cold weather clothing, but also a range of items that would make excellent Christmas presents. Sales of these new items will begin in November with more new lines added in the run to Christmas.
As always, there are plenty of ways supporters can help: attending matches, buying 50/50 and Golden Goal tickets, taking part in Mega 6 which is supporting the “Back to Nuneaton” fund, joining the 200 Club, or becoming a member of the Supporters Co-operative. Every bit of involvement makes the club stronger. Look out also for the Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative Christmas Raffle, which will be drawn after the game on the 27th December. Tickets will be on sale at forthcoming home games.
After reporting on the record growth of the 200 club, there’s yet another reason to join. At the end of November is the Christmas Bumper Draw, which creates eight winners and a £500 top prize. Again, if you want to support this initiative, and win some great cash prizes, join the 200 Club here.
Sponsorship and Matchday Opportunities
Commercial interest around the club continues to build. We still have match sponsorship packages available for upcoming games, which offer a brilliant opportunity for local businesses to promote themselves while enjoying a special matchday experience. The response so far this season has been fantastic, and we’re confident these final packages will be taken up in the coming weeks. These can be secured here:
We have some exciting and cost-effective tailored packages to, designed to businesses of all sizes/ If interested, contact Lee Davies at commercial@nuneatontownfc.co.uk
Expenditure
In September, we incurred £15,476 in direct costs, covering:
Contractual pay to management
Four weeks of players’ wages and expenses
The cost of merchandise sold.
Matchday travel costs.
Other matchday expenses
Administrative expenses were £191, including:
Website hosting
Subscription to Xero
Payroll processing
Transaction fees (SumUp & Stripe)
From a financial point of view, October finished with a monthly deficit of £4,156. As mentioned earlier, this was fully expected. Five away games meant far fewer matchday receipts, while we faced several long trips that increased travel costs. Playing and coaching costs were steady and remained in line with our season plan. The encouraging part is that our year-to-date position stays strong at £46,958, thanks to the early-season season-ticket and sponsorship income, as well as the strong home attendances so far.
We are still tracking to finish the season within the expected and budgeted deficit range of £20,000 across the “playing” months, and even edge towards break-even if we hit that “Operation 600” target!
What to expect in November
Looking ahead to November, we have a fixture list balanced in our favour, with two home matches, another FA Vase tie to look forward to following the penalty win at Stafford, and a league cup derby against Coventry United. Amongst those games is a solitary short trip to Lutterworth Town.
This should bring turn a profit for the month, perhaps £2000 or more, but will largely depend on the attendances for those matches. Also, both the League Cup and FA Vase attendances are shared with the away team, so this may limit the surplus from these matches.
Back to Nuneaton Update
During October, the fund increased by £5,508 and now stands at £71,966 raised.
This was largely driven by the gate receipts from the derby game against Hinckley AFC, which brought in over £3,000 alone.
You will no doubt know that our preferred site is the “Vale View” sports pitches in Stockingford. The preference for this site stems from a number of factors, primarily from the results of the feasibility study carried out by FWP in the spring, but also due to the positive response by the local councillors and the chance to enhance the great work being to by the ‘Ford Community Centre by working together to extend their capabilities.
The site poses some challenges - access and parking will need to be mitigated and due to the site in part being a land-filled former clay pit and some abandoned mineshafts in other parts. This means extra studies will need to be conducted before the site can progress to planning stage. These studies may swallow up a large part of our “Back to Nuneaton” fund. We are currently seeking grants and funding, with the aid of our MP, to cover the cost of these studies.
If anyone else would like to make a donation, small or large, to the “Back to Nuneaton” fund, you can do so here or by emailing mailto:finance@nuneatontownfc.co.uk
How can I help?
There are several ways that fans and local businesses can help support the club:
· Support the club by attending games and encouraging others to do so!
· While at games, please consider buying a 50/50 draw or Golden Goal ticket.
· NEW! Please consider taking part on the new Nuneaton Town Supporters Cooperative games. See here for more information. Proceeds from the Mega 6 game are being donated to the Back to Nuneaton fund.
· Join the NBSC 200 club. This is a fantastic way of supporting the club financially, whilst give you the chance to win monthly cash prizes. You can take part in the 200 Club online by clicking this link: Join the 200 Club
· Join the Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative. Not only will you be helping the Co-op fulfil its duty as part owner of the club, but you will also be able to hold the Co-op board members and club officials appointed by the Co-op to account (including me). Look out for further information about the new season membership drive and further information on how you can get involved in both the Co-op and the club. You can join the Co-op online by linking this link: Join the Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative.
· If you are a local business and would like to become a sponsor, reach out to commercial@nuneatontownfc.co.uk to discuss taking one of our great packages.
· If you would like to donate to our “Back to Nuneaton” fund, please do so here
