OUR PURPOSE AND AIMS
Friends of Norwich City Youth (FONCY) has but one aim and that is to raise funds by various means to help with youth development at Norwich City Football Club.
OUR FORMATION
FONCY was formed back in September 1996 when then former Youth Development Officer and at the time Chief Executive Gordon Bennett invited long time Supporters' Consultative Group (SCG) member John Landamore to form the group and report back to the SCG on a regular basis. Friends Of Norwich City Youth was formed and quickly became known as FONCY, a name that Norwich City fans have always associated with the youth set-up at the Club.
THE COMMITTEE
The committee is chaired by John Landamore, a position he has held since 1996 from when there has only been one change on the committee, and that was when Alan Barnard had to stand down as committee member in 1997 because of work commitments. The committee is therefore made up as follows:
Chairman - John Landamore
Vice Chairman - Roy Blower
Secretary - Kathleen Landamore
Treasurer - Tony Sadler
Committee member - Phillip Baldwin
Committee member - Richard Bland
Committee member - Colin Tovell
Webmaster - Paul Standley
WEBSITE
Since the beginning of 2003 FONCY has had its own web site at www.foncy.co.uk run by webmaster Paul Standley, a Canaries exile who lives and works in Germany. The site contains detailed match reports and photos from Colney as well as away games thanks to our southern correspondent Robert Maynard. The site also contains all up-to-date news on the Academy.
HOW ARE THE FUNDS RAISED
Over the past 14 years funds have come from many different sources but there are three main activities that have been a very important source of income.
The Club's annual Open Day provides us with the opportunity to hold a memorabilia auction conducted by Ken Ewing of Ewings auctioneers and estate agents of Reepham. It is always regarded as one of the highlights of the event. On the same day FONCY has the opportunity to sell off old training kit supplied direct from Colney and this has proved to be very popular.
The annual Spring Raffle offers prizes money cannot buy such as a meal for two with the likes of Craig Bellamy, Iwan Roberts, and Darren Huckerby you can see why the raffle is so popular with the fans, and of course quite unique.
The Super Bond page in the Norwich City matchday programme provides an opportunity for local businesses to advertise for just £200 for a whole season. This has proved to be very popular and the page is a sell out most seasons.
Added to this we are now in our third season of producing Academy programmes for Saturday morning games at Colney. Richard Bland has taken on the mantle of editor and with contributions from Academy manager Ricky Martin who's idea it was to publish the programme it has been an instant success with between £1,500 and £2,000 being generated each season.
Several of the Club's supporters groups are always making donations with the likes of the Capital Canaries making contribution almost every season, and of course individual fans are always making donations.
The total amount now raised by FONCY is expected to very close to the £400,000 mark sometime during the 2010/2011 season.
HOW ARE THE FUNDS SPENT
The money raised is spent in various ways but the bulk of the funds raised are spent on travel - with FONCY having paid for all under-18s travel since 1996 and for the past five years it has paid for all schoolboy travel.
Items have also been purchased for Colney such as dugouts, timing gates, plus equipment in the Academy Dome.
Any tournaments both overseas and at home are supported by FONCY with sometimes other groups likes of the Shareholders Association coming on board as part sponsors.
FONCY SOUVENIRS
Over the years FONCY has produced a variety of coffee mugs to celebrate events not just at Academy level but also at first team level. Most of these have been limited addition items and always produced by our good friends at Norfolk China.
FONCY has a wide selection of lapel badges and there is also a car sticker available.
FINALLY
Everyone at FONCY and of course the Academy would like to thank all those people who have supported us since 1996. No one back then could imagine how successful the group would become, but of course the Canary fans took the fledgling group under its wing and it is very possible that before the group reaches its 20th birthday it could have raised half a million pounds for the Academy.
For more information or to support FONCY contact:
Friends Of Norwich City Youth
Chairman. John Landamore
77 Gowing Road,
Hellesdon,
Norwich.
NR6 6UH
Tel. 01603 407485
Mobile 07768 317834.
email john@foncy.co.uk
www.foncy.co.uk
