The Dons Trust’s South London Press column – The importance of listening to our membership

BY KEVIN RYE

In previous columns, I’ve explained how important our membership is. 

We’re powered by our 4000+ members – nearly 50% of the average home attendance – and everything we’ve achieved is down to the essential fact that fans make what we do possible. 

At our SGM at the end of last season, we also started a discussion about the potential reorganisation of how we own and oversee the football club (usually referred to as ‘the PLC board’).

We’ve now begun that process, and it’s really important that I explain what that is. 

The issue we have as a football club is that in order to achieve the return to Plough Lane in 2020, was that we had to borrow some money. 

As anyone who buys a house knows, debt is something that is common where buying your own home is concerned. 

However, because of the fanbase – and membership – we have, we borrowed most of the money not from a bank or a building society but from ordinary people via ‘Plough Lane Bonds’.

In fact, many people who aren’t even fans of the club helped out but did so because they believed in helping fan-owned AFC Wimbledon return to Plough Lane.

However, as with all debt, it eventually has to be settled in some form. You either have to borrow again from the same people, move to a new lender, or settle it. It’s very similar for us, except for us, because of the rules of fan ownership that we have, we have to do this in a very careful, thoughtful and structured way.

Our members, as they always have been, are in control of our destiny as a football club, and so what we’re now doing is undertaking a process of consultation amongst our membership. Although at some point, there may be something that needs to be voted on. 

At this stage, the most important thing is to understand what members think about how much of the club we own, and whether they are prepared to make any changes to that ownership in order to pay some of the debt off.

This really matters, because, as with all financial decisions that we all make as individuals about our own circumstances now, there are always going to be impacts in the future – some of which we might not be aware of now. 

We must continue to be financially responsible and retain ownership of the club that we have spent so much time – and money – rebuilding and returning to our home.

Our job as a board is to ensure that the process of consultation is one that allows the membership to explain what they think, allows us to understand what their priorities are, and what they aren’t prepared to compromise on.

One thing it’s always worth reflecting on is being fan-owned means we can make our own decisions and plot our own path.

The consultation begins in July with two sessions, finishing in September with a final session at Plough Lane. Dons Trust Members will also be receiving a questionnaire in late summer/early autumn as part of the consultation. Got a question? Head to our FAQs about the consultation at https://t.ly/a0Xe

In other news, The Dons Trust board has decided to recruit up to two additional board members, via the co-option process in our rules, to serve on the board to fill two casual vacancies until the 2023 AGM in December. 

The intention is that anyone appointed under this process will be reappointed by co-option following the 2023 AGM, to serve until the end of 2024. If you’re interested, read more and contact us at https://t.ly/-Agr