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The latest news from the Joomla! Team

Changes to CFU Membership

Posted by Charlotte Walker on

City Fans United members have overwhelmingly backed an increase to the annual membership fee, with supporters now able to become an owner of Chester FC for only £2 per month or £24 per year.

More than 90% of the 500 members who responded to the recent survey indicated their support for raising the membership fee for the first time since 2013, giving the board of directors a strong mandate to proceed.

Joining City Fans United is now even easier with rolling memberships available through Fanbase and, having listened to feedback from members, we are offering three simple contribution options, making it simpler for owners who wish to pay more than the minimum.

• CFU Base: £2 per month or £24 annually
• CFU Seal: £3 per month or £36 annually
• CFU Seal Plus: £1 per week or £52 annually

JOIN OR RENEW NOW

All members will have one share and one vote, and access to the same benefits, including priority ticket access, however, any contributions you make on top of the £24 membership fee will help make your club stronger.

With the move to Fanbase, members will have a digital membership card stored in their Fanbase wallet, but physical membership cards will also be available for members who prefer these.

Should you require a physical membership card, please forward your confirmation email to membership@cityfansunited.com.

There are currently just over 1,500 members of City Fans United, and our target is to grow this to 2,000. You do not have to be a fan of Chester FC; we encourage anyone who believes in our ethos and the history of our club, to become an owner.

By putting supporters and community at the heart of our club, we’re showing that fans can have a powerful say in the way football should be run. That’s why we need you to join the CFU today, as the more owners we have, the louder our collective voice will be.

Why you should join City Fans United

  • Be a co-owner of your club
  • Supporting your club financially
  • Voting rights for the AGM, kit choices and annual awards
  • Chance to stand for election to the board of Chester FC
  • Priority ticket access for selected fixtures
  • Discounts and offers including the Lifestyle Card
  • Monthly CFU e-newsletter

Existing members can renew now by registering on Fanbase and selecting their chosen membership, which will be matched to your previous membership records.

New members can sign up through Fanbase and your membership will start immediately.

JOIN OR RENEW NOW

I have already renewed for 2024/25. Do I need to do anything?
No, we will be in touch with you soon to transfer your membership across to Fanbase.

I currently pay my CFU membership via monthly Direct Debit or recurring payment via PayPal or GoCardless. What do I need to do?
Please do nothing for the moment. We will be in touch with you soon with further details about how you can transfer across to Fanbase. Please don’t cancel your Direct Debit or recurring payment yourself, as this may impact other payments that you make to Chester FC.

I make an additional donation to CFU on top of my membership. What do I need to do?
Please sign up for new membership options through Fanbase and we will then match this to your existing membership.

If you wish to make an additional one-off donation, this can still be done, but as this option is not yet available through Fanbase, please email nick.phillipson@chesterfc.com and we can explain how to do this.

I am a CFU Life Member. What should I do?
Nothing! We will be in touch with you soon to transfer your life membership across to Fanbase.

How many memberships can I buy?
CFU has a democratic system of one share, one vote. Each individual can have only one membership under their name. However, you can buy a membership for a family member or friend.

How old do I have to be?
CFU membership is open to anyone aged 16 or older. Supporters aged under 16 can join the Junior Blues, but will not have membership rights, including voting.

Do I have any liability issues as an owner?
No. We are registered as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means the club is a legal entity in its own right, independent of the owners, and the liability of owners is limited to a nominal £1 shareholding, taken from your membership fee when you join.

Neil Berry Joins as Treasurer

Posted by Mike Day on

City Fans United are pleased to announce that Neil Berry has been co-opted to the Board of Directors as Treasurer.

Neil is a recently retired Chartered Accountant, having spent over 30 years working in management positions within the financial services industry, his last role being Financial Controller at M&S Bank.

Neil has been a Chester FC supporter since 1979, and has been a CFU member and loan note sponsor since the club reformed in 2010, as well as being a Season Ticket Holder.

Neil will be replacing Matt Dickenson as Treasurer. Matt is relinquishing the role but remaining a part of the CFU Board to support the Directors with their respective portfolios.

Welcome Neil!

Adrian Rattenbury joins CFU Board

Posted by Charlotte Walker on
The Board of City Fans United is pleased to confirm the co-option of Adrian Rattenbury as our Governance Director.
Adrian has vast experience in governance through his role with Fair Game, where he is a Director of the football charity that is striving for financial fair play.
He has been involved in professional sport and education for more than 40 years and is another welcome addition to the CFU Board.

Important Information Ahead of our AGM

Posted by Charlotte Walker on

The Annual General Meeting for Chester Football Club will take place on Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 7.30pm in the Cestrian Bar at the Leap76 Stadium. Doors will be open at 7pm.

To attend the meeting, you need to be a fully paid-up member of City Fans United on or before 13th August 2023, otherwise, you will not be eligible to attend the meeting or to vote on any of the resolutions.

Please note that the entry to the AGM will be via the side door to the Cestrian Bar and not through the main entrance, this is to ensure that all attendees are registered appropriately. To make this process as smooth as possible we recommend that you have your CFU membership number to hand on arrival.

For those who are unable to attend the AGM, the stream will be available in the CFU members’ section here.

Join the Board of City Fans United

Posted by Charlotte Walker on

The Board of City Fans United is looking for new board members to stand for election ahead of the annual general meeting on Thursday 23rd November 2023. 

Being passionate about Chester FC goes without saying, but the Board requires a variety of different skills to operate effectively. 

Examples of skills and experience that would be advantageous include:

  • Project management 
  • Experience with community projects
  • Business management
  • Marketing, communications, and engagement 
  • Budgeting
  • Risk management
  • Performance evaluation 
  • Networking and knowledge of local business
  • Legal knowledge

At present, we are particularly encouraging applications from people who have experience in:

  • Governance 
  • Health and safety
  • Organising events 
  • Business growth
  • Fundraising

If you would like to consider standing for election to the Board of Directors, you need to be a current CFU member as of 13th August 2023.

The election letter will be sent to all members over the coming days, accompanied by a ‘Duties of a Director’ information leaflet and a manifesto form.

If you are interested in having an informal chat about joining the board please email info@chesterfc.com 

Chester FC AGM 2023

Posted by Charlotte Walker on

The Annual General Meeting for Chester Football Club will take place on Thursday 23rd November 2023 at 7.30pm in the Blues Bar, Chester Deva Stadium. Doors will be open at 7pm.

To attend the meeting, you need to be a fully paid-up member of City Fans United. If you have not joined or have not renewed your membership, please make sure this is done by no later than 13th August 2023, otherwise, you will not be eligible to attend the meeting or to vote on any of the resolutions. Join or renew here.

If you would like to consider being put forward to have a place on the Board of Directors, again, you need to be a current member and your two sponsors (who cannot be members of the Board) also need to be current members as of 13th August 2023.

The election letter will be sent to all members in the last week of August, accompanied by a “Duties of a Director” information leaflet, a manifesto, which needs to be completed if you wish to apply for a Board place, and a nomination form.

Renew your CFU Membership Today

Posted by Charlotte Walker on

If you haven’t already, now is the time to renew your City Fans United (CFU) membership.

If you’d prefer for your membership to renew automatically you can set up a direct debit. To get set up simply contact nick.phillipson@chesterfc.com. Monthly direct debits start from just £2 a month, or you can choose to pay annually for your full membership.

You can also take the option to auto-renew when choosing to pay for your CFU membership via PayPal.

Alternatively, you can renew by:

If you are renewing over the phone, or in person, please have your CFU membership number handy.

If you are not yet a member you can register here.

CFU Members Play Off Semi Final Tickets Sales Window

Posted by Jeff Banks on
Chester FC are currently selling tickets for the National League North Play off Semi Final, and here’s a ‘how to purchase’ guide for City Fans United (CFU) members, with some action to take if you have not already registered on the Chester FC Box Office.
 
CFU Members – what to do/know ahead of Monday’s CFU Members Sales Window
 
Between 10am, Monday 1st May & 8pm, Tuesday 2nd May, CFU members will be able to purchase tickets for the Play Off Semi Final – there is a limit of one ticket per CFU member.
 
This does mean that you can purchase more than one ticket, but the other tickets need to be assigned to a CFU member with a SEAL account number. You will not be able to purchase a ticket for a CFU member who does not have a SEAL number.
 
Action to take: All CFU members who have a Chester FC Box Office account have a ‘CFU Members 22/23’ tag applied to their account, as per the example displayed below – if you are an existing member and do not have this green tag displayed on your account, then please email fans@chesterfc.com with your SEAL number and CFU member number by 6pm Sunday 30th April. Please check your account as soon as possible.
 

 
Action to take: If you are an existing CFU member that hasn’t got a SEAL number, then you will need to register by 6pm, Saturday 29th April, in order for any purchase of ticket to be made during Monday & Tuesday.
 
For All Ticket Purchases:
 
You will need to log in to your SEAL account to access tickets as this window is only available to CFU members until 8pm, Tuesday 2nd May. 
 

The match will show as unavailable to you, until you log in using the account that your membership is associated with.

 

 

When you are logged in, please pick the total number of tickets that you would like to purchase across the available prices. You will be asked to assign tickets to other members before you pay for them.

 

Add the tickets to your cart and click on the ‘Assign Attendees’ button. 

 

 

If you have selected more than one ticket, one ticket will automatically be assigned to you. You will now need to assign the rest to the other people in your group. 

 

 

To do this you will need to know their account number which starts with SEAL followed by 7 digits and their name as it is registered on their account.

 

To assign a ticket, click on the ‘Add Details’ button and enter the account number (SEALxxxxxxx), first and last name of the person using the ticket. 

 

If the account number entered does not have a membership associated with it, you will not be able to assign a ticket to it. 

 

Tickets are limited to 1 per account.

 

Once you have assigned your tickets, click on the ‘Confirm & Pay’ button and check out as usual.

How to find out your account number

In preparation for the member sale, you can check to make sure your account is eligible to buy tickets. It is advisable to do this ahead of the sale date, so you have everything you need to be able to buy tickets once they’re on sale.

If you have an online account, log into it and go to the ‘Your Account’ section. You will see your name and account number at the top of the screen. It starts with SEAL followed by 7 digits.

 

 

If you have a membership associated with the account, you will see a green tag displaying ‘cfu-member 22/23’ at the top of the screen. 

 

If you don’t and you think you should, please contact fans@chesterfc.com so your account can be checked and updated. 

For all other details associated with this fixture, please visit ChesterFC.com

Senior Blues Launch Fundraiser

Posted by Mike Day on

Since our formation, the Senior Blues have pledged support to Chester FC’s Academy, raising almost £30,000 in just over 10 years.

Recognising the need for additional funding for maintenance and infrastructure projects throughout the club, the Senior Blues have recently decided to extend their support to some of these aspects. This has included purchasing new chairs for the boardroom, amongst other initiatives.

Inspired by a recent Senior Blues Meeting where Nick Phillipson, CFU Director of Facilities, spoke of the continual spend on upkeep of the stadium, the Senior Blues have this week announced a fundraiser to replace existing goal nets.

Replacing the nets is a priority requirement for the club, and at a cost of around £700, the Senior Blues felt that this was an area in which they could provide further assistance.

The group are now extending this fundraiser to the wider fanbase, asking that fans donate a minimum of £10 to fund this project.

Should the fundraiser raise in excess of our target, the Senior Blues will ascertain the most pressing smaller infrastructural requirements and reserve any surplus funds for the designated purpose.

If you want to donate to the scheme then please transfer money using the details below:-

Account Name: Chester City Supporters Society
Sort Code: 08-92-99
Bank Account: 65070431
Reference: NET

In what is an outstanding season on the pitch, the Senior Blues ask that supporters back the Club in this way to help us continue our progress as a fan owned club.

Our City, Our Community, Our Club.