Hereford FC's Founding Shareholders have released the following message about the resolution to change the club's name which is set to be discussed tomorrow evening at a special general meeting.
Message From Hereford FC’s Founding Shareholders
We have been watching the ongoing conversations about changing the club’s name to Hereford United with interest and fully respect all the views put forward.
With that in mind, while we can offer reassurance that we don’t currently hold a definitive view either way on a potential name change, we feel it is right to say publicly that we are all in agreement that we feel unable to vote in favour of the resolution put forward by HUST at the present time.
Our strong belief – which we know is shared by many smaller shareholders - is that opinions need to be sought from the wider fanbase before a final decision is made, as the total number of votes cast in the HUST vote - whether for or against a change – is under 9% of the club’s average attendance since Paul Caddis arrived at Edgar Street.
We think it is vitally important to listen to the views of as many supporters as possible before making such an important decision, including the club’s younger fans, many of whom may only have ever supported Hereford FC.
Therefore, we feel the way forward is for the club to put together an agreed plan to conduct a secure and credible survey of the wider fanbase - to ensure as many views as possible are heard – and also undertake a piece of work to fully investigate the potential costs of a name change as accurately as is possible.
This cost analysis would be provided with the survey so supporters can study it before completing the survey and sharing their views.
Once a wider fanbase survey has been undertaken and the potential costs and additional workload properly analysed, all shareholders will then be able to cast their vote on a name change knowing that a more thorough investigation and consultation has taken place.
The reality of the actual costs involved – including the staffing resources required - are a particular concern for us. We feel that any funds required for any name change - whatever the amount - should be raised by HUST and Bulls supporters from right across the fanbase, so that no money that could be invested in the football budget has to be used elsewhere.
Finally, we would also like to say that if a vote does go in favour of a name change in the future, due to the huge amount of work that will undoubtedly be required, our belief is that it should be down to the club’s Board of Directors, in conjunction with staff, to decide on sensible timescales for the implementation of the change.
This is because the process to change the name cannot be allowed to have a detrimental impact on the excellent work being done at Edgar Street on a day-to-day basis on behalf of every Bulls fan, and the impressive progress that has been made on and off the field.