This Constitution was revised and adopted at the ADSA AGM on the 30th September 2021

Association Name

The name of the Association is the ‘Arsenal Disabled Supporters’ Association’ (from now on referred to as ADSA).

Aims and Objectives

The ADSA will work in partnership with Arsenal Football Club (from now on referred to as Arsenal FC) to identify and address issues affecting disabled supporters relating to stadium access, pitch view, parking and other matters relating to disabled supporters.  ADSA will endeavour to:

  • Enable its members to share a common interest in Arsenal FC.
  • To enhance the match day experience for all supporters with a disability both at Arsenal FC and away grounds.
  • To represent all disabled supporters of Arsenal FC in their dealings with the club.
  • To recommend measures to improve the match day experience for all disabled people at both home and away matches.
  • To encourage disabled people to travel to away matches by providing information and support where available.
  • To establish links with other Associations for the benefit of disabled football supporters.

Membership

    • Membership is open to any individual whatever age who feels they may be able to contribute to the objectives of ADSA and support disabled people.
    • Applications for membership will be considered by the ADSA Committee. The ADSA Committee has the right to refuse an application if the applicant does not agree to abide by the principles and rules of the ADSA or is deemed not to be suitable as far as the interests of the ADSA are concerned.
    • Members contact information will be held by the Secretary for administration purposes only and will not be made available to non-members unless the member agrees.
    • An ADSA member may be subject to disciplinary action or have their membership terminated if it is deemed that he or she has brought the ADSA into disrepute or that their continued membership is not in the interests of ADSA. Disciplinary action and any termination of membership will be dealt with by the ADSA Committee and the member concerned will have the right to be heard and/or to appeal the decision.
    • The annual membership fee for the ADSA will be determined by the members voting at the AGM.
    • Any member under the age of 16 will not have a right to vote at the AGM.
    • Membership will include additional benefits but these may be subject to change.
    • ADSA will be a member of the Official Supporters’ Club Scheme run by Arsenal FC. All ADSA members will automatically be joined to the scheme.
    • Arsenal FC will notify ADSA regarding members that apply to register with ADSA through the Arsenal FC online registration form.
    • An ordinary member may be elected to Life Member at the discretion of the Committee and on election, have the rights of an Ordinary Member.
    • An ordinary member may be elected to Life Member at the discretion of the Committee and on election, have the rights of an Ordinary Member.

Committee

    • The ADSA Committee will comprise of three key positions which are the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.  Also the ADSA Representative on the Arsenal Advisory Board will be either elected or co-opted onto the ADSA committee for the duration they are the representative.  There will be a minimum of one further member to be elected by members of the ADSA at the ADSA AGM. 
    • The Vice Chairperson will be elected from within the ADSA Committee.
    • In addition, the ADSA Committee will invite a member of staff from Arsenal FC to represent the views of Arsenal FC when required.
    • All Committee positions are honorary. These members of the Committee are not to receive any payment, benefits or preferential treatment above non-committee members.
    • The ADSA Committee will represent the ADSA in all matters and make decisions on its behalf including appointing sub-committees.
    • All Committee positions will have a term of office for at least two years and must submit themselves for re-election after the two years.
    • Annual elections are to take place to appoint a member to the committee positions that are up for re-election each year at the ADSA AGM.
    • The ADSA Committee will have the authority to co-opt replacements onto the ADSA Committee if needs arise before the next AGM. This will be by a majority vote of the ADSA Committee and such co-opted members will have the same voting rights as those elected at the AGM.
    • Candidates for the Committee will be proposed and seconded by either ordinary or Committee members and elected by a majority vote with only those members present at the AGM being eligible to vote. Should there be a split vote, the Chair Person will hold an additional casting vote.
    • In the event that less than five members are available to serve on the ADSA Committee, then committee members may hold more than one post with the exception of the Chairperson. However, they will continue to have only one vote.
    • Providing that the necessary consent is obtained, the Secretary will be responsible for providing Arsenal FC with the names and contact details of all the ADSA members. ADSA will not pass members’ personal data onto Arsenal FC unless it has their permission to do so.
    • The Chairman will be in post for two years and will then need to stand for re-election.

Sub-Committees

    • The ADSA Committee may appoint Sub-Committees from members of the ADSA to deal with specific issues. These Sub-Committees will be directly accountable to the ADSA Committee.
    • At least one member of the ADSA Committee will sit on an appointed Sub-Committee.
    • Any decision made by a Sub-Committee shall be subject to approval by the ADSA Committee.

Meetings

    • The AGM of the ADSA will be held annually at an agreed time and date before the end of the football season (April/May) which will be set by the ADSA Committee to which all members will be invited.
    • The Secretary will set the agenda in conjunction with the Chairperson which will be distributed to 30 days in advance along with a copy of the previous year’s audited accounts and minutes of the last AGM.
    • At the ADSA AGM, the Chairperson will ask the members to approve the previous year’s minutes. The Chairperson will also present an annual report.
    • ADSA must give at least 30 days’ advance notice of when the AGM will be held to both members and Arsenal FC.
    • The ADSA Committee will hold a minimum of three meetings per football season, the dates of which need to be notified to the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer at Arsenal FC. The dates, times and venues will be agreed by those elected onto the Committee and published in advance by the Secretary.
    • A quorum for Committee meetings of ADSA will be at least three elected committee members. A meeting must include at least one key person (Chair Person, Vice Chair, Secretary and/or Treasurer).  A minimum of three Committee members must be present at AGMs and Extraordinary General Meetings.
    • An EGM may be called at any time. However, this must be in writing to the Secretary and signed by at least four ADSA members, stating the nature of the business to be discussed.
    • By 31st October each year ADSA must provide a copy of the minutes of the ADSA AGM held in the same year.
    • Minutes of meetings will be available to any member and will be available to download from the ADSA website.

Finance

    • The ADSA Treasurer will be responsible for the management of the ADSA funds.
    • All funds will be paid into an account operated by the ADSA Committee and the account name will be ADSA.
    • ADSA is a non-profit making organisation, and is willing to accept donations from groups or individuals.
    • Two signatories will be required to make any transactions. The signatories will be members of the ADSA Committee.
    • The Treasurer will give financial reports at the ADSA Committee Meetings highlighting and accounting for all transactions.
    • At the end of the financial year, the Treasurer will be responsible to forward a copy of the accounts to the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer and Disability Liaison Officer at Arsenal FC.
    • Financial records must be made available for inspection by Arsenal FC on request for the purpose of assessing compliance with the ‘Guidelines for Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs’.
    • Charitable donations will be made to an organisation(s) chosen by the ADSA once the bank balance is in excess of the amount required to sustain its expenditure.
    • By the 31st October each year the ADSA must provide a copy of the accounts from the previous season to the Supporters’ Club Liaison Officer of Arsenal FC.

Website

    • ADSA will not allow any company or individual to advertise on the ADSA website and the ADSA website may not be operated for financial gain.
    • The ADSA website must contain a direct link to the arsenal.com website on its homepage.
    • ADSA may incorporate up to five stories per week from Arsenal.com into the ADSA website, provided that the content is credited to Arsenal.com and a link to the Arsenal.com website is provided.
    • ADSA may also include on the ADSA website, quotes from and summaries of articles in the Arsenal Magazine and/or 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. ADSA may not include any such articles in their entirety.
    • ADSA may not reproduce any content from Arsenal Player on the ADSA website.
    • ADSA is permitted to operate a profile on Facebook or Twitter using the ADSA logo and ADSA name. However, ADSA must ensure that the Facebook and Twitter Policy is followed in the ‘Guidelines for Official Arsenal Supporters’ Clubs’.

Record Keeping

    • The Secretary and Treasurer will retain all correspondence for a minimum of five years for both financial and non-financial records.
    • Any records kept on a computer must be password protected and a backup kept externally.
    • The Secretary shall ensure that minutes are kept of every meeting which will be available and distributed within two weeks of a meeting to all ADSA Committee Members by mail or email.
    • All agendas and minutes will be posted on the ADSA website once they have been approved by the ADSA Committee Members.

Alteration to the Constitution

    • The Constitution can only be altered by majority vote of the members at either an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Any alteration will require the approval of a two thirds majority of members present before being implemented.
    • A proposal to alter the constitution must be seconded and sent in writing to the Secretary of ADSA not less than 28 days prior to the AGM or EGM.
    • The wording of any proposed alteration to the Constitution shall be distributed to all members no less than seven days in advance of a meeting.

Dissolution of ADSA

    • If the ADSA Committee at any time decides on the grounds of expense or otherwise that it is necessary to dissolve ADSA, it shall call either an EGM of all members or conduct a Ballot electronically giving no less than 28 days’ notice.
    • A two thirds majority of those voting members present is required provided there is a quorum of no less than 10 members to make such a decision.
    • In the event of the dissolution of ADSA, any property and/or funds will be donated to a local charity.

ADSA 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.

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