Malahide United AFC

Founded 1944

Co. Dublin

Membership

MESSAGE TO PARENTS/PLAYERS REGARDING ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE 2021/22 SEASON 27.08.2021

Malahide United as a football club provides football for over 50 teams at all levels. The volunteers who assist and give their time to the club, be they managers, coaches, parents helping out and also those who serve on committees help to run the club to the best of their ability.  

There is a financial cost to running Malahide United and the yearly subscriptions from players are a vital part of the income to allow it to provide the facilities and pay the annual cost of operating the club from the Nippers Academy through Schoolboy/girls and up to Senior’s, both ladies and men.   

What do these annual subscriptions cover in Malahide United?

A variety of expenses are paid throughout the football season to cover the following which may not be immediately apparent from dropping players to Gannon Park and Malahide Castle for training and matches:

  • Referee expenses for home games in Gannon Park and Malahide Castle for pre-season, league games and cup fixtures
  • Footballs, cones and bibs for each team, including training balls and match balls.  Most footballs only last for one to two seasons due to wear and tear and must be replaced. 
  • Insurance cover for all players registered to play for the club in training sessions and at matches in case of injury.
  • Electricity for the use of the floodlighting on the all-weather pitch, small all-weather and grass area which are in use from Monday to Friday, usually from 6.00pm to 10pm throughout the season due to the demand for training slots.
  • Coaching expenses for managers and for the Director of Coaching who provides advice and guidance to managers and carries out coaching sessions for teams throughout the season and liaises with players and parents for any player offered trials for teams in Ireland and England.
  • Bernard Byrne is the club physiotherapist and is available to all players to aid in diagnosing injuries, advising on treatment needed and providing rehabilitation programmes and support in order for players to recover.   Players do not have to meet any of this cost.   In addition, the club provides first aid kits to each manager to have available at matches and training sessions for minor injuries.
  • League registration fees for each Malahide United team entered into the Metropolitan Girls League Dublin (MGL) and District Schoolboy League (DDSL), the North Dublin Schoolboy League NDSL and senior’s leagues.  
  • The main all-weather pitch and the small all-weather pitch and floodlights require weekly  maintenance given the level of training throughout a season and to keep them to a high standard as they will need to be replaced in the future.
  • The club’s pitches at Gannon Park are maintained by Tony (Dicey) Reilly who is employed full time in the club and who looks after the two 11 a side grass pitches and the 7/9 a side grass pitch.   They require cutting, marking and annual maintenance including seeding, sanding and maintenance with specialist equipment.  
  • Payment to Fingal County Council for the rent of the pitches in Malahide Castle and Robswall Park.  In addition, the Club pays for these pitches to be line marked each week and throughout the year liaises with the council on maintenance and pitch playability.  
  • administration costs, telephone costs, maintenance of web presence, security costs, audit fees, bank charges for the account and online registration system fees for the benefit of collecting annual subscriptions. 
  • annual repayments on the loan facility scheduled to finish in 2023/2024.   

The expenses are offset by the income the Club receives from the following:

  • sponsorship towards sets of jerseys organised by managers/coaches and/or the parents on individual teams. 
  • income earned from the facilities at Gannon Park, being Platinum Gym, Gourmet Food Parlour and Charlie’s Childcare. These facilities are complimentary to the football club insofar as many parents and players are also members of Platinum Gym, they meet and socialise in Gourmet Food Parlour and their children attend the Charlie’s Childcare and after school care.
  • the sale of advertising space around the main pitches and the hire of the all-weather pitch and the main pitch at Gannon Park to visiting club and international junior and senior ladies and men’s teams.

The weekly subscription cost of playing for a Malahide United team as a player is between €5 and €7 per week and covers all the costs outlined above.

Summary

We are grateful to all managers, coaches and parents, who participate in the running of the club and for assisting in the collection of annual subscriptions.    We believe that the facilities in Malahide United are excellent and provide value for the annual subscriptions paid by players.   

Apart from the financial costs of running the club, players receive coaching, playing time, development of their football skills, learning to interact with other team members and play as a team in a sport that they enjoy from the age of 5 up to and including senior football.

We hope this note provides more detail as to what expenses your annual subscriptions go towards meeting in the 2021/22 season and would encourage prompt payment when requested.

Malahide United Executive Committee Date: 27 August 2021