FaST - Early Season Message
Early into the 2021/22 season and FaST would like to take the opportunity to remind supporters of the support that we offer the club both financially and in practical terms with the various projects undertaken. This is mutually beneficial to the club to enhance the ground infrastructure and to supporters for the improvement of their matchday experience. All this could not be done without the support of our members with subscriptions, donations and voluntary work and we are proud to say that since the Trust formation in 2005 approximately £150,000 has been raised and donated to the club. In monetary terms this is worth much more to the club as a considerable part of the work has been carried out on a voluntary basis thereby saving substantial labour costs.
Projects
In the past 12 months projects include refurbishment of the Ladies toilet serving the downstairs clubhouse with materials funded by FaST totalling £1,481. Most of the work was carried out voluntarily by FaST Board Members Phil Martin and Kevin Dyer to a very high spec and we thank them both for their time and efforts. Defective floodlight bulbs were renewed at a cost to FaST of £1,116 and again the work was carried out voluntarily by Phil Martin using a cherrypicker. In addition FaST agreed to make a donation of £1,000 towards the cost of a replacement chiller in the clubhouse cellar as the previous chiller had broken down beyond repair and it was acknowledged that supporters being served warm beer would not go down too well!!
FaST also funded the cost of new lights in the dressing rooms and players tunnel area at £310 and a drag mat to help with pitch maintenance for £480. Also a sum of approximately £200 was put aside to purchase paint for the ground. As you can see from the figures quoted, to maintain the level of support FaST give the club it is vital that supporters continue purchasing 50/50 tickets on a regular basis, especially as there was a drop in income last season due to fewer matches being played and also renew their memberships as these are essential sources of income. In the long term it is planned to finish external cladding to the main stand and complete the rainwater drainage system.
Ways of funding FaST
To continue our ground development work FaST members and non-members can utilise the following methods of payment:-
Standing Orders, Electronic Transfers or Cheques made payable to FaST
One-off donations to FaST specifically for FaST Ground Development Funding
By donation bucket on Matchdays on the 50/50 table
Membership fees income raised by more fans joining FaST and renewing their memberships. This also enables new members access to FaST membership benefits such as reduced costs of travelling on minibuses to away games (when we are able to run this service in the future) and discounted club merchandise in the Club Shop.
FaST Bank details are:-
Sort Code: 30-90-89
Account Number: 37588460
Quote reference: FaST / Farnborough Supporters Society Limited
I would mention that FaST will be relaunching its website with a modern and revamped look in the near future but the address will remain unchanged.
Joining FaST
FaST is currently pushing a membership drive to give more support to the club. To this end long term supporter Libby Mills kindly spearheads this initiative on matchdays and has already been successful in signing up several new members. From this season Libby is operating from the 50/50 desk as she has also taken on the sale of matchday tickets and for this we most grateful. For those non-members reading this article why not come and join us and enable FaST to carry out even more projects enhancing our already excellent stadium.
FaST have a say in the running of the club as one of our Board is a Director of the club and meetings are held with club Directors to discuss matters of mutual interest. To make the joining process even easier and for those who prefer the electronic route, all that you need to do is go to the FaST website and hit the join button in the menu bar and follow the on screen directions. Joining can now be a paperless exercise. Alternatively, joining forms are held by Libby on matchdays at the 50/50 FaST table. Our Membership Secretary Malcolm Upward will be happy to process.
Junior Membership
FaST have introduced a Junior Membership status for Under 16’s at a joining fee of £3. This will entitle junior members to the same benefits of reduced cost travelling on the away minibuses (when the service resumes) and discounted price of club merchandise in the Club Shop as with full members. The gift of a snood in club colours is provided free upon joining. They are very nice and practical so all you young supporters do not miss out! Seriously, we do hope many young supporters will join this season and strengthen our numbers for the future.
Finally, may FaST take the opportunity to wish the players and management of Farnborough FC and their supporters a happy and rewarding season which we do hope will reach a conclusion.
FaST Board
