ARSENAL SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS
Guidelines for Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs
By signing these Guidelines you agree that your supporters’ club (the “Club”) will comply with all of the obligations set out below. The Club’s membership of the Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club Scheme (the “Scheme”) is conditional upon the Club’s continuing compliance with its obligations under these Guidelines and any additional requirements that The Arsenal Football Club PLC
(“Arsenal”) may notify to the Club from time to time.
Please pay particular attention to the following sections:
· Registration requirements (paragraph 4);
· Restrictions on the use of Arsenal’s intellectual property (paragraph 6); and
· Ticketing conditions (Schedule 2).
1. Club Structure
· The Club must consist of at least 50 registered members. Members cannot be registered to more than one Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club.
· The Club must have a committee comprising at least a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer (the “Committee”). These positions must be nominated by the Club’s members prior to the Club’s application to be enrolled onto the Scheme.
· The Club must submit to Arsenal two character references for each of the members who will be filling these 3 key positions. The references should be:
provided by the member’s employer or a professional person of good standing in the community;
be in the form of a signed letter (faxed or email copies of the letter, or letters with a scanned signature will not be accepted); and
iii. include the contact details of the person giving the reference.
· All Committee positions must be honorary (i.e. unpaid) and Committee members must submit themselves for re-election at least every 2 years.
· The Club must be located at least 50 miles away from any other Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club that is enrolled on the Scheme (unless otherwise approved in advance in writing by Arsenal).
· The Club’s name must be approved in advance by Arsenal and should include the geographical area that the Club represents.
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2. Club Meetings
· The Club must hold at least 3 Committee meetings per football season, the dates of which should be notified to the Supporters’ Clubs Liaison Officer at Arsenal. Notes of the Committee Meetings should be available for inspection by Arsenal upon request.
· The Club should hold an Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) every year, to which all Club members must be invited. The Club must give Arsenal at least 21 days’ advance notice of when the AGM will be held. Minutes of the AGM should be submitted to Arsenal within 6 weeks after each AGM.
· Arsenal reserves the right to send a representative to any of the Club’s meetings.
3. Administration
· The Club will implement a set of rules and regulations that are in accordance with these Guidelines and ensure that all of its members comply with those rules and regulations.
· The Club will take all appropriate steps to ensure that Arsenal’s reputation will not be damaged by the acts or omissions of the Club and its members.
· The Club may charge an appropriate membership fee to its members to cover the Club’s running costs. The level of this fee is to be decided by the Committee and approved by the Club’s members at the Club’s AGMs.
4. Registration
· In order to apply to join the Scheme:
i. the Club must download a copy of these Guidelines from (the “Extranet”) and sign and return these
Guidelines to the Supporters’ Clubs Liaison Officer at Arsenal (whose contact details are set out at paragraph 9 below);
ii. Arsenal will then supply the elected Chairperson of the Club with a link to an online application form hosted on the Extranet. The Club should provide this link to its members who will then be able to individually complete the online registration form and submit this to Arsenal;
iii. if, after its members have completed the online application form and submitted it to Arsenal, the Club meets all requirements set out in paragraph 1, it will be accepted onto the Scheme and Arsenal will notify the Club accordingly.
· In order to be considered for enrolment into the “Supporters’ Club Plus” group of the Scheme (see Schedule 5 or the Extranet for more details) the elected Chairperson of the Club must complete an application form available on the Extranet and submit it to the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer at Arsenal before 1 July each year.
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· Details of the benefits structure of the Scheme are subject to change from time to time at the Club’s sole discretion. An up-to-date version of the Scheme’s benefits structure is maintained and available to view on the Extranet.
· The Club must require its members to re-register for membership of the Club each football season via Arsenal’s online registration form on the Extranet. Club members that have not re-registered with the Club before 1 August each year will not be eligible for benefits under the Scheme for the following season.
5. Financial Arrangements
· The Committee as a whole will be collectively and individually responsible for the management of the Club’s funds.
· The Committee should ensure that an account is opened in the name of the Club at a reputable bank or building society. The account must have two authorised signatories – the Treasurer and one other nominated member of the Committee. Any credit or debit card associated with the Club must be in the name of a nominated member of the Committee.
· The Treasurer is responsible for ensuring that the accounts of the Club are kept up to date.
· The Club’s accounts must be submitted for its members’ approval at the Club’s AGM.
· At the end of the financial year, the Club must forward a copy of the accounts to the Supporters’ Clubs Liaison Officer at Arsenal, who may carry out spot checks to ensure that the information provided is correct.
· The Club must keep full and accurate records relating to its operations including any financial transactions in which the Club is involved (including, for example, donations to the Club, ticket purchases and product sales). Such records must be made available for inspection by Arsenal on request for the purpose of assessing compliance with these Guidelines.
· By 31 October each year, the Club must have provided to Arsenal the following :
i. a copy of the minutes of the AGM;
ii. a copy of the accounts from the previous season; and
iii. provided that all necessary consents have first been obtained by the Club, the names and contact details of the Club’s members (which should be uploaded onto the relevant section of the Extranet or as otherwise advised by Arsenal (all such data to be provided in compliance with all relevant data protection legislation – see below for further detail)).
6. Use of the Arsenal’s Intellectual Property
· Arsenal will provide the Club with a personalised logo (the “Logo”) in black, red and gold for use in accordance with these Guidelines in the format set out at Schedule 1. The Club’s use
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of the Logo will identify the Club as being enrolled on the Scheme as an Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club. The Club is not entitled to use any other of Arsenal’s intellectual property without Arsenal’s express prior written approval.
· Subject to the Club’s continuing compliance with these Guidelines, Arsenal grants the Club a limited non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use both the Arsenal name and the Logo, in connection with the Club’s role as an Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club subject to the terms set out in these Guidelines.
· For the avoidance of doubt, the Club is not authorised to produce or sell any merchandise bearing Arsenal’s intellectual property.
· The Club acknowledges that Arsenal owns all rights in the Logo, and will own any future
goodwill in the Logo that is generated by, or in connection with, the Club’s activities.
· The Logo must be used only in the form that it is provided to the Club by Arsenal. In particular, the Club must not:
i. change the colours, images or lines in the Logo;
ii. crop the Logo;
iii. position it at an angle;
iv. separate the elements of the Logo;
v. distort or stretch it;
vi. obstruct any part of the Logo;
vii. print the logo any smaller than 20mm high; or
viii. print the Logo without accompanying it [with the letters ‘TM’] or the ® symbol at the bottom right of the Arsenal Shield device.
· The Logo must not be used in any way which may, in Arsenal’s reasonable opinion, be damaging to the reputation of Arsenal, including:
i. for or in connection with any overtly political or religious organisation;
ii. for or in connection with any organisation, whose principal business includes the sale of tobacco related products or pornographic material;
iii. for or in connection with any organisation carrying on as one of its principal activities the business of venue management, operators of conferences and exhibitions and stadia or providers of consultancy services for stadium management;
iv. in any manner which conflicts with the applicable British Code of Advertising Practice or any applicable similar code of practice or successor thereof;
v. in any manner which primarily depicts men, women or children as sex objects, or depicts or refers to indecency or obscenity;
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vi. in any manner which contains quotations from or references to a member of the Arsenal team unless the written consent of that person or an authorised representative of that person is obtained and is produced to Arsenal; or
vii. in any manner which encourages in whatever manner or form behaviour which promotes disparaging views or behaviour relating to an individual or group’s colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, sex, marital status, religion, age or disability.
· If the Club or its members fail to comply with the requirements set out above, Arsenal may withdraw the permission granted in these Guidelines. In such circumstances the Club will be removed from the Scheme and will no longer be entitled to make any use of Arsenal’s intellectual property or hold itself out as an Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club.
7. Members’ personal data
· The Club must deal with all personal data (such as names, addresses and telephone numbers) that is collected from its members in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations regarding data protection including the Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended).
· To the extent that the Club collects its members’ personal data (such as names and contact details) in connection with the Scheme it shall ask those members whether they would like such information to be passed onto Arsenal so that Arsenal is able to (i) administer the Scheme; (ii) provide them with information regarding Arsenal Football Club; and (iii) provide them with offers and information regarding third party products that it believes they may be interested in.
· The Club will not pass members’ personal data onto Arsenal unless it has their permission to do so. When the Club does pass members’ personal data onto Arsenal, it must inform
Arsenal what type of consent that member has given (i.e. (i), (ii) or (iii) above).
· The Club remains legally responsible for its compliance with all applicable data protection legislation.
· Arsenal will notify the Club about members that apply to register with the Club through
Arsenal’s online registration form referred to in paragraph 4 above.
8. The Club’s responsibilities
· The Club is responsible for:
i. updating its members with any news alerts communicated to the Club’s Committee members by Arsenal via the Extranet or via email;
ii. registering its members as per the registration process outlined in paragraph 4 of these Guidelines and, where those members have provided the requisite consent to the Club, providing the members’ names and contact details to Arsenal via the Extranet and keeping those details up-to-date;
iii. promoting Arsenal products and services to its members on behalf of Arsenal; and
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iv. helping Arsenal to extend its worldwide supporter base.
· While it is enrolled on the Scheme, the Club may indicate that it is an Official Arsenal
Supporters’ Club subject to the terms of these Guidelines. The Club may not otherwise hold itself out as being connected in any way with Arsenal.
· The Club shall procure its members’ compliance with these Guidelines. The Club agrees and acknowledges that it is responsible for any breach of these Guidelines by its members.
· The Club is not authorised to, and agrees not to, enter into any agreement on Arsenal’s behalf.
· The Club must display the following disclaimer on all Club correspondence:
“The [name of the Club to be inserted here] is independent of The Arsenal Football Club PLC (Company no: 109244) and its associated and group companies, and has no authority to bind, contract or negotiate on its behalf.”
· The Club acknowledges that Arsenal shall not be liable for any damage, loss or harm caused to the Club, the members of the Club, or any third party, by any activities of the Club.
· The Club must at all times comply with these Guidelines, including the Schedules.
9. How to contact Arsenal
· Members of the Club may contact Mark Brindle, the Supporters’ Clubs Liaison Officer at Arsenal, in the following ways:
i. by email: mbrindle
ii. by telephone: + 44(0)
+44 (PLEASE NOTE: mobile contact number may only be used on Arsenal’s men’s first team match days);
iii. by post: Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer
Arsenal Football Club
Highbury House
75 Drayton Park
London N5 1BU
England
· The Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer is, wherever possible, contactable as follows:
i. Monday to Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm via landline telephone;
ii. Weekends and match days: Contactable via e-mail and (on Arsenal’s men’s first team
match days only) via mobile.
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10. Miscellaneous
· The Club must comply with the website guidelines attached as Schedule 3 with regard to its own website (the “Club Website”).
· Arsenal may, at any time and in its sole discretion, update these Guidelines. If Arsenal does so, it will use reasonable endeavours to notify the Club of such changes, but will not be liable for any failure to do so. An up to date version of these Guidelines is available to view on the Extranet
· These Guidelines, and the agreement between Arsenal and the Club in general, are governed by the laws of England and Wales and any dispute arising from them is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
11. Termination of the “Official” status of the Club
· Arsenal may, at any time and for any reason, cancel the Club’s membership of the Scheme. In such circumstances, the Club must immediately cease holding itself out as an Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club and will no longer be entitled to any of the benefits under the Scheme, including use of the Logo and the Arsenal name.
I hereby confirm that the Club and its members will act in accordance with these Guidelines and the documents referred to herein.
Signature: ________________________
Name: ________________________
Date: ________________________
For and on behalf of: ________________________
(Print name of the Club)
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SCHEDULE 1 – Example Logo
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SCHEDULE 2 – Ticket Requests
How to request tickets
· If the Club is eligible to apply for Arsenal match tickets based on its allocated group within the Scheme (see Schedule 5 and the Extranet for details), it may do so via the Ticket Manager section of the Extranet.
· For Premier League matches, ticket requests should be placed approximately 10 weeks prior to the match. For Champions League and cup matches, ticket requests should be placed as soon as possible after the relevant draw has taken place. Closing dates for ticket requests will be specified when matches are added to the Ticket Manager section of the Extranet.
· All ticket requests are subject to availability and Arsenal is not able to guarantee that ticket requests will be fulfilled.
· Please note that Arsenal’s ticket request procedure (as set out on the Ticket Manager section of the Extranet) restricts ticket requests to a maximum of one ticket per Silver Membership at the Club. If the Club is based in the UK, it will need to provide the applicable Silver Membership Numbers with its ticket request – if these are registered with your members please ensure that you have the prior written consent of the owners of the Silver Memberships for such use.
· It is important that the persons who are able to access the Extranet on behalf of the Club visit the Extranet on a regular basis to ensure closing dates are not missed.
ALL TICKETS ARE ISSUED SUBJECT TO ARSENAL’S TICKETING TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY TO EMIRATES STADIUM IN FORCE FROM TIME TO TIME.
TICKETS MAY ONLY BE ALLOCATED TO, AND USED BY, MEMBERS OF THE CLUB. TICKETS MUST NOT
BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY THIRD PARTIES. ANY SALE OR REDISTRIBUTION OF THESE TICKETS
UNAUTHORISED BY AFC MAY RESULT IN REMOVAL OF THE CLUB’S TICKET PRIVILEGES AND/OR
TERMINATION OF ASSOCIATED MEMBERSHIPS.
Payment for tickets
· If the Club’s ticket request is successful, in order to make payment the Club must contact Arsenal’s Contact Centre (whose details are available on Arsenal’s website which will direct the Club to Arsenal’s Ticketing Fulfilment team to process payment.
· Credit card details are stored securely by Arsenal and will automatically be used to take payment for match tickets. If there is a problem and a credit card payment cannot be authorised, this may result in a considerable delay before the tickets are issued. If the problem
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is not rectified in sufficient time prior to a match, the tickets allocated to the Club may be released and resold.
· Payment for tickets is taken from the relevant credit card when the tickets are issued by Arsenal’s Box Office (approximately 5/6 weeks prior to a match). The Club must ensure that sufficient credit is available on the relevant credit card to meet the payment.
· The Club cannot provide credit card details from the individual members for whom the Club is applying for tickets and ask for payment to be split. It is the responsibility of the Club to meet the payment for tickets and to then obtain payment from their members.
Records of tickets issued
· The Club is responsible for keeping a record showing the Block, Row and Seat Number of every ticket issued to them and the name and membership number of the member that each ticket has been allocated to.
· These records must be kept until at least 3 months after the date of the last match of the relevant football season. This information can be requested by Arsenal at any time following receipt of a complaint or in light of checks that take place at the Stadium.
Collection Arrangements
· Tickets must be collected on match day from the South West Collection Office, situated opposite Turnstile S. The South West Collection Office opens approximately two and a half hours before kick-off and tickets must be collected at least 30 minutes before kick-off. Photographic proof of identity will be required and the person collecting must state their name and the name of the Supporters’ Club the tickets were issued to. Failure to provide such details may result in Arsenal withholding such tickets.
Duplicate ticket requests
· If duplicate tickets are required, a request for such duplicate tickets must be made by either the ticketing officer or one of the Committee members at the Club. Members should not contact Arsenal directly.
· Duplicate tickets will only be provided when notification is received by an official from the Club, stating the Block, Row and Seat Number(s) and giving details of the circumstances giving rise to the request. A charge of £10 per ticket is applicable for the provision of duplicate tickets, and payment will be taken from the Club’s supplied credit card.
· Any duplicate ticket request should be sent by e-mail to mbrindle if possible or, if at short notice, by telephoning the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer
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Security in the Stadium
Members of the Club sitting in seats allocated to the Club must have their Club membership card with them. Spot checks will be made to ensure that those using the tickets are members of the Club to whom the ticket was issued. Failure to produce a valid membership card could result in the person being removed from the stadium and action subsequently taken against the Club. The Club is responsible for making its members aware of this requirement.
Queries regarding ticket requests
· If members have any queries relating to tickets issued to the Club, they should contact the Club rather than make direct contact with Arsenal. The Club can then raise the relevant query with the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer at Arsenal either by e-mail (mbrindle
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SCHEDULE 3 – Guidelines regarding the Club’s website (the “Club Website”)
· Use of any of Arsenal’s intellectual property other than the Logo is strictly prohibited. The conditions governing the Club’s use of the Logo are set out at paragraph 6 of these Guidelines).
· The Club may not allow any company or individual to advertise on the Club Website and the Club Website may not be operated for financial gain.
· The Club Website should contain a direct link to the http://www.arsenal.com website on its homepage.
· The Club may incorporate up to 5 stories per week from Arsenal.com into the Club Website, provided that the content is credited to Arsenal.com and a link to the Arsenal.com website is provided.
· The Club may also include, on the Club Website, quotes from and summaries of articles in the Arsenal Magazine and/or the match day programme, provided that the source is specified to be the Arsenal Magazine or the match day programme (as appropriate) and the story is followed by a subscription advertisement. The Club may not include any such articles in their entirety.
· The Club may not reproduce any content from Arsenal Player on the Club Website.
· The Club is responsible for ensuring that their site is not offensive or derogatory of Arsenal or its employees, and that it does not breach any applicable rules, regulations or guidelines.
· Arsenal reserves the right to take appropriate remedial action in the case of non-conformance of the requirements specified in these Guidelines.
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SCHEDULE 4 – Facebook and Twitter policy
Subject to the Club’s compliance with these Guidelines and in particular the conditions set out in this
Schedule 4, the Club is permitted to operate a profile on Facebook or Twitter using the Club name and the Logo. Arsenal reserves the right to withdraw this authorisation and require that the Club closes any social media profile set up by the Club, for any reason and in Arsenal’s sole discretion.
Visit http://www.twitter.com and register your information.
Image: <<insert the Club’s personalised Logo>> (please contact Arsenal’s Supporter Club Liaison Officer if you require this).
Location: <<Your designated Region>>
Bio: “Welcome to the official Twitter feed for Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs <<Insert region>>, operated by <<insert your Club name>>. We’ll tweet you about all the latest Supporters’ Club news from your region. Please note that any views or comments expressed on this account are those of <<insert your company name>>, not Arsenal Football Club.”
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASCinsertRegion
Website: [Insert website]
Under Facebook rules you must register as a ‘Page’ rather than as a person. To do this click the button at the bottom of the registration page which states ‘Create A Page’.
Please select the ‘Local business or place’ option.
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Next, please select the ‘Sports/Recreation/Activities’ option and complete your information. You should enter the business name as Arsenal Supporters’ Club <<Insert region>>.
Profile picture: <<insert the Club’s personalised Logo with the name of its region>> (please contact Mark Brindle if you require this)
About: Welcome to the official Facebook page for Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs <<Insert region>>, operated by <<insert your Club name>>. Follow this page and we’ll provide you with regular updates on our activities. Please note that any views or comments expressed on this account are those of <<insert your Club name>>, not Arsenal Football Club.
Facebook web address: http://www.facebook.com/ASCRegion
A guide to Tweets and Facebook posts
Twitter and Facebook profiles should be used only in connection with the Club’s role as an Official Arsenal Supporters’ Club.
· Tweets should refer to activities at the Club only. You should not mention or comment on any Arsenal Football Club activities or players unless requested directly by the Club to do so.
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· You should not comment on activities involving other professional clubs, leagues or associations
· Please remember that you should never post anything that will allow a child’s identity and location to be revealed. You need to be very careful of tweeting or posting images of attendees, as the parental consent of any children pictured must have been given in advance. Parental consent is asked at time of booking, where they are processed through the online booking system. Please refer to the download register prior to taking any photos and do not take any photos of children where parents have not consented to the same.
· You must not promote any businesses including through a ‘Like’, post/tweet or ‘following them’.
· You may not use any of Arsenal’s trade marks or logos other than those expressly referred to above on your Twitter or Facebook account.
· It is recommended you keep a close eye on what other people post or comment on your pages and use good judgement and remove those that do not adhere to the Club’s guidelines.
· You must not include or allow any commentary or images on your Twitter or Facebook account that may cause damage to the reputation of Arsenal.
· Arsenal reserve the right to require the closure of any social media profile set up by the
Club, at any time and for any reason, at Arsenal’s sole discretion.
Monitoring
Arsenal will monitor the tweets and posts on Facebook through a system called HootSuite. This system allows us to see all tweets posted mentioning Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs. If the guidelines are not being adhered to and risk damaging Arsenal’s reputation we will close the sites down.
There is a free version of HootSuite available should you also wish to monitor the activity on your Club’s social media pages, http://www.hootsuite.co.uk. Hootsuite will track posts on both Facebook and Twitter however it is generally recommended that you manage posts directly through Facebook for Facebook as these achieve higher interactions.
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SCHEDULE 5 – Scheme Structure and Benefits
Enrolment on the Scheme will entitle the Club to receive particular benefits according to which group of the Scheme the Club is allocated. A comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the structure of the Scheme and the benefits available to Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs is maintained by the Club and available to view on the Extranet
PLEASE NOTE: THE BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO OFFICIAL ARSENAL SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS ARE SUBJECT
TO CHANGE FROM TIME TO TIME AT ARSENAL’S SOLE DISCRETION. FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AND
UP-TO-DATE OVERVIEW OF THE BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO OFFICIAL ARSENAL SUPPORTERS’ CLUBS
Arsenal North Wiltshire Supporters Club 