From Bring Back United:
On Thursday 14th November Hereford supporters made history by voting to Bring Back United.
The vote of HUST members saw 81% of voters back a return to our traditional Hereford United name.
HUST have now called a Special General Meeting of shareholders of Hereford FC Limited. This is expected to take place in December.
We call upon all shareholders to support the wishes expressed by Hereford supporters in last week’s vote and Bring Back United.
Since the HUST AGM, the Bring Back United group have had productive meetings with both HUST and with representatives from Hereford FC (Chairman Chris ‘Stig’ Ammonds & General Manager Jamie Griffiths). We echo the calls from all parties to respect everyone’s views and avoid any division.
After a monumental week in our club’s history, we wanted to reflect on the events of this year that have led to the upcoming shareholder vote.
Saturday 3rd February 2024 – After hearing more and more supporters on the terraces calling for a name change, a supporter created an indicativeonline poll open to all supporters which was publicised on the @HUFC2024 Twitter account and on various Hereford FC related Facebook groups. This ran for 1 month and had 844 replies, with 76% supporting a return to the Hereford United name.
With the results of this poll indicating the wider fanbase’s desire to return to Hereford United, our group was formed from a collection of like-minded Hereford supporters. We decided to research the name change process and complete a cost analysis so fans could have an informed vote.
Other polls conducted recently have shown similar strong support for a name change back to Hereford United.
Wednesday 13th March 2024 – The Bring Back United group sent the below email to a member of the club’s staff, with a link to our projected costs and notes, which formed the basis of the cost analysis we later released:
Good Evening [name redacted],
I hope you are well.
As you have probably seen online/at games, there is currently a feeling within the fanbase where we would like to explore the possibility of a name change back to Hereford United to tie in with the centenary year.
We thought it important to reach out to the club as we do not want false impressions created around the “Bring Back United” group: we are putting together a positive campaign and we want to work with the club wherever possible.
We are fully aware of the process that a name change requires, such as calling a vote at the AGM/an EGM, and gaining sufficient shareholder support, including from the Hereford United Supporters Trust.
We feel that as the name change movement progresses, there is an opportunity for good PR to be generated by/for the club, and is another reason why we wanted to touch base with yourselves. There may be certain things the club would prefer to release themselves, rather than via a fan group. We want it to be a positive campaign regardless of people’s views on the subject.
Our current focus is around the potential cost a name change would bring. We think that the initial £30,000+ estimate provided by the board in February 2022 is excessive. We were hoping the club could review our estimated costs, which we believe to be around £9,000, in case there is something we have missed. We do not want to share misinformation and would be happy to refine our figures prior to releasing them. We’d also be happy if following this the club would prefer to release an updated estimated costing, rather than ourselves, especially as we’re aware that the board and chairman have changed since the previous costing and feel it would be unfair otherwise.
We’ve shared our projected costs here [link removed] and we would really welcome the opportunity to discuss this with the club.
Kind regards,
“Bring Back United” Group; [names redacted]
Wednesday 20th March – We were informed that our email had been shared with the board and that it would be discussed in the next board meeting.
Friday 22nd March – We were informed that our email had been discussed at a club board meeting and received a short reply stating that “The Board feel that it is best for you to make contact with a shareholder, either HUST, or another individual, or group of shareholders to take this matter further” and stating “If and when the proposal for a name change is put forward to shareholders, the clubs Board of Directors would then carry out any work required by the shareholders to ascertain any costs associated with a name change”.
Therefore, at the request of the club board, we decided the best route was to go via HUST as the largest shareholder and the voice of the supporters. The HUST constitution clearly states that any supporter of the club is eligible to be a member and therefore we felt HUST was the appropriate place to hold a supporter vote.
Tuesday 2nd July 2024 – Two members of the Bring Back United group had a video call with the HUST board to let them know our plans and to understand the process of calling a vote of HUST members.
Friday 30th August 2024 – After months of work our cost analysis document was published online. This document had been sent to the UK’s leading independent football finance expert before publishing. You can see it on our website www.bringbackunited.co.uk/costs.
Sunday 29th September 2024 – Our open letter to shareholders was published. You can read that on our website www.bringbackunited.co.uk/letter-to-shareholders.
Wednesday 16th October 2024 – Bring Back United submitted our two resolutions for the HUST AGM. These were for a name change back to Hereford United and for an organised fundraiser with HUST to hold the raised funds to ensure supporters cover all the costs of the name change rather than the club.
Tuesday 29th October 2024 – Keith Hall contacted the Bring Back United group with his generous offer to match supporter donations of £9,570 towards the costs of Bringing Back United. You can read more herewww.bringbackunited.co.uk/matched-donations.
Thursday 14th November 2024 – 81% of supporter votes cast in the HUST vote supported a return to the Hereford United name. 89% supported a supporter fundraising campaign organised by HUST to avoid the club having to pay for the name change.
Monday 18th November 2024 – The Bring Back United group met with a HUST director to discuss the next steps following the HUST AGM.
Wednesday 20th November 2024 – Three members of the Bring Back United group had a productive meeting with Hereford FC’s chairman, Chris ‘Stig’ Ammonds, and General Manager, Jamie Griffiths.
Impact of Bring Back United Campaign
Over the last few months of the campaign we have seen strong support for a return to our traditional Hereford United name.
As evidenced in the chart above, there has consistently been very strong support from Hereford supporters for the name change with every poll that has been run showing a strong majority in support of a return to our Hereford United name.
This strong support has been reflected in our social media accounts being viewed over half a million times.
The campaign has been covered by numerous local and national media outlets including:
- BBC Midlands Today
- BBC News Website
- BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester
- Bulls News
- Fanhub
- Hereford Times
- Talking Bull
- The Price of Football podcast
- Your Herefordshire
The media coverage we have seen will only be a small part of the coverage that will come between now and the first matches the club plays as Hereford United.
The fundraiser resolution passed at the recent HUST AGM will mean the club has no financial risk to them from the name change. Instead, there is a massive commercial opportunity for merchandise and publicity, and the move will also provide renewed financial impetus for the club and its fanbase, once more United.
All of this coupled with the over three quarters of Bulls supporters backing a return to our Hereford United name should give shareholders confidence in voting to Bring Back United in the upcoming Special General Meeting of Hereford FC Ltd.
You can make a pledge to help cover the costs of Bringing Back United at www.bringbackunited.co.uk/pledge.
