Cambridge United directors last week agreed a series of changes to the club's management structure that will place a greater emphasis on forming and developing community links.
Fans' Elected Director Brian Attmore will take responsibility for a new role, combining oversight of the club's Football in the Community scheme with responsibility for developing community links and marketing the club to the fan base and wider community.
Attmore told cambridgeunited.com, "I'm really looking forward to my new role. Stuart Jacobs has put together an excellent Football in the Community programme on limited resources, and we want to build on that success by finding more partners and providing a wider range of services and support to local schools and clubs."
Cambridge United Football in the Community offers a wide range of coaching courses within forty local schools and through holiday programmes - in 2004/5 nearly three thousand youngsters attended one of United's Community courses.
Continued Attmore (above), "The club's general marketing has been low-key and fragmented in recent times, and the club needs to become far more energetic in developing community facilities and links - this whole area needs a fresh start.
"I am working with club staff and volunteers on a number of ideas that we hope will capture the public imagination and make the Abbey Stadium a more appealing day out that will be attractive and affordable for everyone in the area.
"We are also working to open a dialogue with a number of community organisations both in the City and Abbey Ward in particular, and in the South Cambridgeshire region generally.
Cambridge Fans United has always had a strong commitment to community development, and with three fan-directors now on the Board we are determined to push ahead with schemes for everyone's benefit that open the club up to the community."
In another change, responsibility for reviewing redevelopment and relocation proposals on behalf of the club has been passed to Finance Director Nick Pomery.
Pomery confirmed, "We are waiting with interest for proposals from Bideawhile for a potential relocation, but the club has to do a lot of work in the meanwhile.
"We have set up a group of professionals with relevant experience who are reviewing the potential for redevelopment on the existing site under the Abbey buy-back option.
"At the same time we are considering what facilities the club would need and want in any new stadium, wherever that might be, both for our own purposes and to ensure that any site is a living, community stadium open and in use seven days a week, rather than once a fortnight."
Management of the club's lottery schemes will be combined with the Commercial department and looked after by new Commercial Director Justyn Medd.
"Lotteries are something we will need to develop further, but work on this will have to wait until all the main commercial sales have been completed, since it is important to the club that these are made before the season starts," said Medd about his new responsibilities.
Roger Hunt will continue to chair the Board, and retain responsibility for the first team. John Howard will continue to look after the club's highly-rated Youth Programme as well as retaining responsibility for Stadium Management and assisting with first team matters. Paul Barry retains responsibility for the club's website.
Hunt commented, "These changes reflect and fulfill the commitment made at the club's AGM to a new partnership between the existing directors and our supporters, which we can see has already delivered a fantastic response to the recent fund-raising appeal and new energy and ideas to the boardroom.
"The club needs to look forward, not back, and the start of summer is a good time to rebuild and look forward."
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