FOUNDED in March 2023, AFC Welwyn, of the Spartan South Midlands League Division Two, are about to celebrate their first anniversary.
As with 1000GBP.com, this is their first season in Non-League football and they are pro-actively embracing social media, new filming and editing technology and the many opportunities it now gives clubs to expand their supporter base and develop new income streams.
Having recently heard about 1000GBP.com, 40 of AFC Welwyn’s players and supporters have registered to play The Ultimate Football Quiz, and they’ve even staged their own online version on YouTube.
The club was founded by owner and player Tawhid Juneja and this week he explained how the club came about, what the challenges have been and why they are embracing innovative new ideas, such as 1000GBP.com’s unique way of raising funds for Non-League clubs.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START A NEW FOOTBALL CLUB?
Imade my debut for Boreham Wood at the age of 15, so I’d been playing Non-League football for more than a quarter of a century. Having also spent many years in business, I decided to look at how I could stay fully involved in the game when my friends tap me on the shoulder and suggest it is time to retire!
Initially, I planned to buy and run a club myself but none that I approached were available or interested in selling, so I realised that an obvious solution would be to start one myself.
The club was founded by me and our now first team manager Richard James on March 28 and AFC Welwyn were ready for the start of this season.
WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF SETTING IT UP?
I did a lot of initial research as I knew it was important to have a sustainable business plan and a good location and potential fan base.
I grew up and live locally, and previously played for Welwyn Garden City FC’s development team to help bring through some of their youngsters, and I knew a few people at the club so that gave us a base. Once we’d registered AFC Welwyn as a legal entity, organised insurance and appointed a management committee, we negotiated a threeyear ground-sharing deal with Welwyn Garden City FC and we now hire their ground for our matches and practice sessions for set fees.
That agreement enabled us to apply to become an FA accredited club and approach leagues, and we were quickly accepted by Spartan South Midland League Division Two in Step 7. There was a lot of paperwork involved but fortunately my wife Lisa is a barrister, so she kindly looked after the legal and contractual side.
IS IT EXPENSIVE TO SET UP AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN TEAM?
Yes, and we are working on the basis that we’ll make a loss for the first three years and break even in the fourth, but this is a very long-term investment and plan. It costs around £6,000 a month to run the clu
