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18
Oct
5 things we learned: Harrogate Town fans’ forum on finances, training ground and football regulator
Harrogate Town’s first fans’ forum of the season took place at the Exercise Stadium last night (October 16).
The Stray Ferret joined Town supporters to hear from Sarah Barry, Irving Weaver, Simon Weaver, Lynsey Barraclough, and Hamilton Mattock as they discussed their roles at the club.
Issues such as the Independent Football Regulator, Harrogate’s new-look youth system, the proposed training facilities and finances were discussed.
Here’s what we found out at Thursday's event.
1 Independent regulator
Harrogate chief executive Sarah Barry revealed that she recently attended a meeting of the Independent Football Regulator, a new public body, on behalf of Harrogate Town. All 116 clubs from the Premier League to the National League were in attendance, alongside the new regulator chair.
The regulator role will begin in November. All football clubs from the top five leagues are required to apply for a licence to compete in league fixtures from the 2027-28 season.
A club’s eligibility for a licence will be determined by various criteria, such as their financial stability and their fan engagement.
Around £10 million would be paid annually to the regulator by the 116 clubs, with contributions scaled according to each club’s tier. It was not revealed how much Harrogate’s levy would be.
Ms Barry said the average season loss for a League Two side is £1.5 million. It is around £5 million for League One sides, and £17 million for Championship sides. She added that even if Harrogate Town sold out every match, it wouldn’t fix their financial problems.
According to the club’s annual accounts for 2024, the club made a £2.5 million loss. The club now owes owner Irving Weaver £5.25 million. The hope is that the regulator would help to ease these problems.
Of the £14 billion of media revenues made by English football’s newest four-year deal, clubs in League Two get a measly amount. Only 8% of total revenue is split between the clubs in the EFL who do not receive parachute payments following relegation from the Premier League.
A financial redistribution scheme is now in place which will see broadcast revenue money shared in a fairer way. Ms Barry said this was the club’s “biggest priority” regarding the Independent Regulator.
2 Youth expansion
Ms Barry praised the work that former captain Josh Falkingham had done since being appointed director of youth football in July. She said his attitude and enthusiasm to his work had been “a breath of fresh air in the youth system”.
The club announced it was rebranding its youth development centre in August, with the vision of “maximising the talents of young players” and “producing technically gifted footballers” to represent the club in the future.
Ms Barry said that the club had been “looking for local talent pathways” and was “in talks with new partners that could go beyond the UK”. She did not give any further details regarding international expansion.
She added:
We want to get the most out of the players in our academies. Not just footballing ability, but confidence and social abilities too.
3 Training ground
Club chairman Irving Weaver spoke about the progress of the club’s planned new training facility.
He said that, after a few years of trying to satisfy various clauses with Leeds City Council, it has finally come to an agreement with the club. A formal planning application is now expected to be submitted within the next two months.
Irving Weaver.
The training ground would centralise all Harrogate Town operations, with Mr Weaver stating that “all staff will be in the same facility”. As reported by the Stray Ferret in July, the main building would have 33 rooms, including staff offices, physiotherapy rooms and a gym.
A timeframe was not set for completion of the project.
4 Ambition is high for Simon Weaver
Despite disappointment about Harrogate’s loss against Fleetwood last Saturday (October 11), Simon Weaver’s ambitions for this year were high.
Talking about his side’s start to the season, he said that he was “delighted with the progress, but we want more”.
Weaver admitted that his squad this year includes some “absolute gems,” but that “the truth is we’re still throwing games away when we should be winning”.
The manager was stern about the standards he sets for his players though, stating:
We’ll improve and we’ll stop the switch-offs or we’ll change the team.
The Harrogate boss, who will take charge of his 700th league game against Colchester today, also said that the club will be taking the cup competitions seriously, and that he would like another trip to Wembley.
5 FA Cup money
A question was asked about the effect of Harrogate’s FA Cup fixture against Leeds United last year.
Losing 1-0 in front of a crowd of 35,000 at Elland Road, Harrogate’s share of the ticket revenue will have undoubtedly been a big financial boost for the club. But by just how much?
Picture: Harrogate Town.
Simon Weaver said that the revenue had an important effect on the club’s January transfer window.
Harrogate made six signings in January, including now-regular starters Bryn Morris and Ben Fox, who helped to keep the Sulphurites in the league last season.
Weaver said that the revenue made from the Leeds match was “pretty much all swallowed up by those signings”.
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