Investing in the academy
CCFC is moving towards the fully integrated football model whereby there is no longer a silo model in which Academy and the first team group rarely work together.
Dismantling the silos both promotes the acceleration of young players’ development and is aspirational for the younger players – they work with the first team group which includes former Academy players – therefore encouraging others to follow the very same pathway.
The vision incorporates a first team-Academy training facility – a facility that is designed and built to facilitate and future proof a Category One status. Having the first team and Academy working on the same site inspires.
CCFC is one of very few clubs in League One that has Category Two status Academy.
The Academy is a cornerstone of the club, has and continues to be a source of first team talent.
The Academy costs in excess of £1.2m per year – of which £500K is a grant. The rest of the funding comes from club income.
The Academy is not a profit centre. The value to the club is generating and cultivating talent locally by developing players who understand what the club means to supporters and whose ambition is to play in the CCFC first team.
Inevitably – and this is true of all but a handful of clubs at the top of the Premier League – there will be occasions when we lose players. Callum Wilson is a classic example. He was outstanding for us in the 13/14 season, but that attracted interest from other clubs. On a personal level, Callum was offered a life-changing deal and could well be playing in the Premier League next season.
The objective then becomes ensuring that the club maximises the return on its long term investment – given the Academy’s input over what can be a eight or nine year period.
Generating more revenue
The first signs are that the club and Wasps will develop a mutually-beneficial relationship with both clubs eager to develop additional revenue streams.
On the back of early stage discussions with the management and commercial staff at Wasps, we are exploring mutual approaches to revenue generation e.g. around seat or stand sponsorship that may favour both clubs. Any monies generated in the interim period are a bonus to CCFC and must be explored.
Our motivation remains that for every £1 generated of eligible income under financial fair plays rules leads to 60p being transferred to the first team.
We are engaging with the local business community and being open and transparent regarding our position today and our motivation and vision for the future.
There was a perception that we were a “closed shop”. That might well have been caused by our concentration in getting our own business in order, but we realise that we have to be more outward facing, and that new and fresh business relationships need to be fostered.
Playing an active role in the community
The Sky Blues in the Community Charity (SBiTC) plays a very active and widespread role across a number of different areas and through a varied programme of initiatives.
Community work includes primary school healthy living programmes to walking football for over 50s while also delivering a range of social inclusion projects in some of the most challenging areas across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The increased demand for their award-winning work is resulting in their geographical spread being widened away from Coventry and in to Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby and across Warwickshire.
We need to continue to build on the work already delivered by SBiTC as it will increase the awareness of the CCFC brand and also increase our fan base via their engagement with high volume numbers across the region.
Future Sky Blues – is an initiative to generate the next generation of our supporters, our workforce and our sponsors/partners.
Active Ambassadors is a new initiative which works alongside Sky Blues in the Community, the Supporters Consultative Group, Sky Blues Trust and the Former Players’ Association to help support further community engagement.
The money our Active Ambassadors programme generates will be ring-fenced for Steven Pressley and Neil MacFarlane to draft in new players (aged between 17 and 20) into the development squad.
In return for their annual investment, our Active Ambassadors are hosted in the Boardroom each match day and act as an additional bridge between the board and the business community.
Communication and supporter liaison
The club communicates through more channels than ever before. We have a dynamic website, an award winning and successful match day programme and are active across a number of social media channels. In fact, in recent years our communication has been noted by the number of award nominations the club has received.
Initiatives such as the match day Q&A and regular programme columns from Steve Waggott have been designed to increase that flow of communication.
The Supporters Consultative Group which includes board representation from the Sky Blues Trust and other fans’ stakeholder groups has been key to the flow of communication throughout the last 18 months, and its meetings have been regularly attended by board members.
In addition to the scheduled SCG meetings, we have held in-person and phone briefings with the group or its chairman when the need has arisen.
The SCG now has a board presence, something which is in its infancy, but something the group has welcomed. That will be built on and refined."
www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/the-way-forward-coventry-city-020115-2177171.aspx
