Ashford Town FC Statement

Due to pressure from the Football Association, the current boardroom deadlock had to be brought to an end. It has been well publicised that my fellow director has sought to wind up the football club, which would have taken ATFC out of existence. As I am sure everyone is fully aware, I have worked tirelessly in the background to find a solution to the deadlock but I refuse to be blackmailed or bullied into paying extortionate monies that were not legally due. Therefore legal proceedings have now been served with an aim of settling the financial issues that surround the true legal ownership of the freehold at Homelands. These proceedings are now in court so I cannot comment further.

After weeks of meeting with the club's solicitors and advisors it is with regret that, to save our football club from extinction, we have asked the court to appoint an independent administrator to hopefully resolve the deadlock and allow the club to continue to play football. We have been advised, because of the seriousness of the situation, that relegation would probably have been the penalty for our demise so, rather than suffer mid-season, we have been advised to resign from the Ryman League with immediate effect and apply for Kent League registration. This scenario has been bubbling on and I am disappointed by the timing of this announcement. The Ryman League announced the news earlier today, ahead of when we intended to release it to you supporters. I apologise about this but please understand that there was nothing I could do.

I would like to add that this decision has not been taken lightly but it has been made with the survival of our football club in mind. There has been much speculation, regarding the financial problems of the football club, so I would like to stress that my fellow director has not financially supported ATFC for some 18 months. The problem is not a financial one. It is an FA requirement that all decisions made are a majority decision at board level and, as we have a deadlock situation at this level, this could not be tolerated for another season.

There has also been plenty of speculation regarding the groundshare agreement with Maidstone United Football Club. I can only comment that the decision was taken with legal advice due to the serious nature of the fraud and ATFC could not be an accessory to the crime. Of course we would welcome free commercial Sky Television, as any business would, but this is totally unethical and something that we are fully against as a club. Hence the reason for ending the agreement.

I would like to end this statement by assuring you supporters that I have your best interests at heart. Our football club has suffered dearly over the last couple of years but I genuinely feel that we are close to ending this sorry saga and putting Ashford Town on a much stronger financial footing.

Please keep showing your support and backing the club.

Let's take it onwards and upwards.

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Dear Supporters and all connected with ATFC,

It is with great sadness that I have to report to you that I have been forced into winding up proceedings against A.T.F.C

I am a 50% shareholder and one of only two Directors of A.T.F.C; in addition to this I am also the 100% owner of the freehold; despite this I have been locked out of A.T.F.C's business for some considerbale time by my co-director.

I and my Solicitors have been trying to address this situation however events have overtaken us and it has come to our attention that the club is clearly insolvent and does not have the means to trade out of it's insolvency.

In a normal company situation this would be dealt with by a functioning Board of the company, but in the case of A.T.F.C we never had a functioning board at the best of times and certainly not now. Also it is evident that my co-director does not accept the seriousness of the current situation. Even though the club has reduced its costs significantly and has additional income from rent and profit on bar & food takings relating to Maidstone United Football Club, Ashford Town Football Club is still accumulating more debt week on week.

An incomplete schedule of creditors supplied to me by the club's book-keeper and a notice of winding up proceedings from HMRC demonstrates to me that clearly the club is insolvent and continuing to trade insolvently. In these circumstances my Solicitor has advised me most strongly that matters cannot be left as they are, creating further detriment to creditors, and as I am powerless to affect things at board level I have no option other than the action I am taking.

I have endeavoured for the last 15 months to prevent the inevitable fate that now faces the club; a few years ago there was real potential to turn Ashford dreams into Nuts & Bolts reality but unfortunately that potential has been squandered for reasons I do not fully undertsand, but rest assured it is my intention that Homelands will always be the home of Ashford Football

Tony Betteridge 4th June 2010