This from Hereford FC:
Speaking to the official website today, Chairman Ken Kinnersley has set out the rationale behind what has been a very difficult decision,
‘It is with considerable regret that the Board of Hereford FC issues this statement today.
‘Having explored all avenues over the past three years, and in the face of various public statements from UITC, the club’s Directors have concluded it is now in the interests of both parties to issue a statement to clarify the position.
‘This will ensure that everyone understands the situation clearly and means Hereford FC can refocus on its plans for the development and continuation of youth and community football in Hereford.
‘As a club, when the time was right it was always our intention and ambition to operate a comprehensive youth football and community engagement programme directly under the Hereford FC brand.
‘To advance this aim, Hereford FC has engaged in talks with different Chairs of Trustees of UITC over the past three years, the objective being to regularise the relationship between the two organisations to bring them closer together.
‘Our principal aim has been to secure a voluntary agreement with the UITC Trustees that would see the relationship between UITC and the club returned to the same position included in the UITC Articles of Association that were in place prior to the winding-up of Hereford United Football Club in December 2014.
‘Those Articles, in particular paragraphs 25 and 25.1, set out the ‘right’ of Hereford United Football Club (1939) Ltd. to nominate up to three Trustees to UITC, the intention being that the football club retained overall control of the Charitable Trust that was operating in its name.
‘This was the principal aim because the ‘rights’ as provided by the UITC Articles prior to the winding-up of Hereford United Football Club in December 2014 became ‘null and void’ on its liquidation, as legally Hereford FC is a totally separate entity and not a successor to the original company. ‘The Hereford FC Directors have always been of the view that it was inappropriate for the club to sanction the management of youth and community football to a separate organisation, especially taking into account the associated safeguarding rules and regulations, under circumstances where it had no control, or even influence, over that organisation.
‘In late 2016, following what initially appeared to be positive discussions, a formal proposal from the club to regularise the position between the two organisations was subsequently rejected by the UITC Trustees. In the complete absence of any indication from UITC at that time, or since, that the Trustees were willing to engage in meaningful discussions, this vitally important issue remained unresolved.
‘Then, in late November 2017, the UITC Trustees issued a unilateral Board statement giving 30-days’ notice of their intention to cease involvement in the management of the HFC youth teams and setting out their intention to cease all community operations by the end of the 17-18 football season.
‘However, in light of a more recent statement from UITC about a possible realignment of their aims and ambitions, the Hereford FC Board believes that by issuing this statement now, it will remove any possible misunderstanding that any association, relationship or understanding exists between the two organisations.
‘On behalf of the Hereford FC Board, I would like to wish United in the Community all the very best with their plans for the future.’