Athlone Town Football Club at it's recent annual general meeting adopted a policy document "A Whole New Ball Game-A Five Year Plan for the development of Athlone Town Football Club"
This document is a comprehensive analysis and stock take of the Club's current position and predicament.
The document honestly acknowledges that Athlone Town has not kept pace with recent developments in Irish club football. It points out that Athlone Town has not won a major honour since 1983 and
has languishsed in the lower reaches of the First Division for the past four seasons. The club accepts that it's playing, training and spectator facilities are poor and all need to be radically improved.
In an impressive analysis of Athlone Town's strenghths and weaknesses.The Club acknowledges some harsh realities but also identifies a number of strengths and opportunities upon which the club can build.
The Five Year Plan points to the fact that Athlone is traditionally a soccer town and a stronghold of the game, and that the Club has a long and proud history, with a reservoir of good playing talent
and a record of developing that playing talent. The Club is in a good financial state with a strong potential support base and is situated in one of the fastest growing towns in the country.
Mindful of all that Athlone Town Football Club sets itself a number of strategic objectives over 5 years which would then see Athlone Town as an established Premier Division team in a position to realistically
challenge for major honours, playing in a modern state of the art football stadium incorporating 5,000 covered seats, boasting training facilities and expertise. The Plan sets the Club with a mission
to become the best football club in the country.
To achieve this lofty goal the Five Year Plan contemplates the implementation of a radical re-organisation of the Club's structures into five different areas of Finance, General Administration, Teams and Player Development,
Fixtures and Ground Development. The plan also envisages a Player Development Structure in partnership with the Athlone and District Schoolboy League, local schools and the larger midlands socceer community.
As part of that, the Club is also announcing a unique initiative in association with FAS and with the co-operation of the FAI Regional Development Officer, whereby the Club will put coaches into all the Primary and Secondary
Level schools in all the Midland counties.
The Club is also exploring the strong possibility of a strategic alliance with an English Premier League Club, the establishment of a full-time office and commercial department, the re-establishent of a thriving independent
Supporters Club, the creation of a Patron's Club and the possible re-constitution of the Club as a Public Company Limited by Guarantee.
It is clearly an ambitious plan, but one which the Club feels is absolutely necessary to revive a once great club.
Athlone Town invites the participation in this Plan of all those who profess an interest in football in this town and in this club.
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