Preston Makedonia Football Club

[Risto the Great]

Is there a way out? No, if we don’t pay the tax debt.

Is it safe to assume the tax debt is valid?

On some of your other points raised, you seem to have a disdain for uneducated people (particularly the ones who used to run the club). Most of my wealthiest clients are not particularly well educated. I find it gives them a certain combination of advantages in the cut throat world we live in. I don't necessarily see the need for many professionals running a community sporting organisation.

The problems you describe are common to most community sporting organisations.

I sincerely hope the new directors have taken a director's insurance policy.

[CrazyMKD]

Some of the more important reasons why the club is where it is...


* Difficulty in attracting people with strong commercial and business acumen to assume leadership positions at the club;
* Very Limited professional skills at committee level;
* Lack of interest from supporters and members of the community wanting to contribute at committee level;
* Little or no volunteer support to assist committee members on match days and other administrative tasks;
* No working Social Club committee to run fund raising events and help supplement football club income;
* Year-on-year decreases in home game attendances due to results;
* Dramatic reduction in membership numbers over the past 5 years due to results;
* Dwindling sponsorship support from the community due to past mismanagement;
* Lack of community support for club fundraising initiatives;

[CrazyMKD]

CrazyMKD, thanks for the response and information.

Is there a constitution and org. chart that can be referred to so we can see how the set up of the committee and directors is actually structured?

To be honest, I don't know much about the current group who are running things now. I recall that there was some discontent with them too, but that may be just misguided criticism by people that are upset with the current status of the club. Can you cite some of the changes that they have made for the purpose of improving the predicament in which the club finds itself in?

I think the lack of interest also has to do with the lack of promotion and marketing. Perhaps in the past it was enough to know it was a Macedonian club for one to be inspired to attend matches and provide their support, but today things are different, and I don't think it is being 'sold' to the public as well as it can be.

I generally agree, although the above statement also needs to be elaborated on. It shouldn't matter which part of Macedonia one comes from, what counts is who has the best interest of the club at heart. If they all followed the same principles and guidelines, it wouldn't matter.

Can you refer us to an example, like an article in the AMW where he has discouraged people to help the club? Why is Pece receiving this criticism?

One of my concerns was the fact that there were people in the social club trying to promote the diaspora organisation relating to that moron Ljube Boskovski. Does that still go on?

The constitution is not online so i cannot refer you to it. You have directors appointed so the company can exist as a legal entity for taxation purposes and you have the football committee that runs the show. So usually when the committee changes the directors change and people from the football committee are appointed as directors.

Current group are all young professionals that took over a year ago with a plan to reform the club and start fresh. I personally know all of them but they lack business connection and deep pockets to run the club independent without the old generation. As soon as they were appointed some of the older lads saw this as a threat and started to back stab and sabotage all sponsorship deals including the major sponsor for this year.

Promotion and Marketing were the most important goals for this year, social media and e-newsletter were used to promote the club to the younger generation. Preston was also one of the first clubs in Victoria to introduce online payment and membership signup in order to drive membership numbers and this has worked very well.

One of the biggest problems this year was the major sponsors, they promised and agreed to a $50k deal but this deal was broken due to many negative things said in public about their involvement with the club and the rat from the committee that talked them out of the deal so later on he can be the business man that Stefo and AMW is talking about who will take on the presidency and run the club. THIS IS THE TRUTH THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IN OUR COMMUNITY.

The club needs to stem away from truck drivers and construction workers with 8th grade education as 'businessmen', who think they're presidency is leading the club in the right direction. This was done many times before and has not worked.

In regards to the AMW, stefo is the biggest pot stirrer when it come to the club, instead of helping out and encouraging the young lads he refers to them as "Deca, bez pojma za fudbal"! They have their reasons and don’t want to hand over the club to the new generation and for that reason have sabotaged everything so they can take over again at the end of the year.

Now its a matter of time before the club is wound up and locked up, its shame and sad but these sort of actions discourage anyone from getting involved and helping out. In summary its the same people year in year out that have been involved in the club and done fuk all. As soon as someone else takes over they unite and work against them so the new ones don’t succeed.

Also not sure about Ljube, but i can tell you many organisations use the social club as a meeting venu. Social Club on its own is another story as well, people making money from it but paying zero to the football club.

[Soldier of Macedon]

CrazyMKD, thanks for the response and information.

In short answer no one owns it, there are directors appointed for taxation purposes and is registered as a company. The directors are appointed by the Life and General members and can voted in or out at Annual General Meetings.

Is there a constitution and org. chart that can be referred to so we can see how the set up of the committee and directors is actually structured?

The current blokes on board have tried to do some drastic changes in the last 2 years to save the club but have failed due to lack of support from the business and general community.

To be honest, I don't know much about the current group who are running things now. I recall that there was some discontent with them too, but that may be just misguided criticism by people that are upset with the current status of the club. Can you cite some of the changes that they have made for the purpose of improving the predicament in which the club finds itself in?

It sad to see the club in its current situation seems like people lost interest and did not back up the current young committee.

I think the lack of interest also has to do with the lack of promotion and marketing. Perhaps in the past it was enough to know it was a Macedonian club for one to be inspired to attend matches and provide their support, but today things are different, and I don't think it is being 'sold' to the public as well as it can be.

4. The biggest problem that contributed to the fall of Preston is the introduction of majority Vardarci at committee level , once this happened the Belomorci stopped financing the club and here we are today 20 years later with a $150k debt and facing bankruptcy.

I generally agree, although the above statement also needs to be elaborated on. It shouldn't matter which part of Macedonia one comes from, what counts is who has the best interest of the club at heart. If they all followed the same principles and guidelines, it wouldn't matter.

To top it off you have people like Stefo Gejorgievski and the AMW newspaper adding fuel to the fire by publishing stories and bagging the young president Pece and discouraging others to help.

Can you refer us to an example, like an article in the AMW where he has discouraged people to help the club? Why is Pece receiving this criticism?

One of my concerns was the fact that there were people in the social club trying to promote the diaspora organisation relating to that moron Ljube Boskovski. Does that still go on?

[CrazyMKD]

Thanks mate, I would really like to be able to pinpoint how and when the club was mismanaged after its amazing success from some time ago. This club served as a uniting force for all Macedonians in Victoria, and in particular helped in facilitating the relations between Macedonians from Belomorsko and those from the republic.

You cannot pinpoint at one reason, there are few i can think of:
1. Lack of unity in our community (churches)
2. The same people running the club for many years (no interest from the younger generation until a year ago)
3. Removing the ethnicity from clubs by the FFV and fines for flags and supporters in the last 10 years have also contributed to it
4. The biggest problem that contributed to the fall of Preston is the introduction of majority Vardarci at committee level , once this happened the Belomorci stopped financing the club and here we are today 20 years later with a $150k debt and facing bankruptcy.

Is there a way out? No, if we don’t pay the tax debt. No one wants to help or be involved with the club, people are too selfish and wait on others to do something about it. To top it off you have people like Stefo Gejorgievski and the AMW newspaper adding fuel to the fire by publishing stories and bagging the young president Pece and discouraging others to help.

[CrazyMKD]

I am not sure if that's correct Bill, how can they own the club when it was established by the Macedonian community?

In short answer no one owns it, there are directors appointed for taxation purposes and is registered as a company. The directors are appointed by the Life and General members and can voted in or out at Annual General Meetings.

On another note, the club has been left in this unfortunate situation due to many years mismanagement by previous committee members.

The current blokes on board have tried to do some drastic changes in the last 2 years to save the club but have failed due to lack of support from the business and general community.
It sad to see the club in its current situation seems like people lost interest and did not back up the current young committee. Instead some so called businessman even went behind their back to sabotage the new sponsorship deals so they themselves can get back into the committee and run the club to launder money for their businesses.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Thanks mate, I would really like to be able to pinpoint how and when the club was mismanaged after its amazing success from some time ago. This club served as a uniting force for all Macedonians in Victoria, and in particular helped in facilitating the relations between Macedonians from Belomorsko and those from the republic.

[Bill77]

I will chase something up for you SOM.

[Soldier of Macedon]

But once you enter a league, you sign away your sovereignty and are dictated to. Gate takings, owner ship of brand goes to those authorities. The club committees are only made to feel like they are in charge.

Bill, do you have anything you can refer me to, like an official website or document on how all of the above works? I am not necessarily disputing what you're saying, but at the moment it doesn't make much sense to me.

[Bill77]

I am not sure if that's correct Bill, how can they own the club when it was established by the Macedonian community?

Well clubs are formed by communities, if you play socially in a non league comp, the community or who ever formed the club has total ownership. But once you enter a league, you sign away your sovereignty and are dictated to. Gate takings, owner ship of brand goes to those authorities. The club committees are only made to feel like they are in charge. (sounds like the EU and its member nations) And they can only dance to the Federations tune.

Preston Makedonia is in so much debt because. History of fines (majority unfairly handed), Fees to play in such leagues, Corruption with in the club, Past Committee's pillaging. So the community and club suffers.

[Soldier of Macedon]

I am not sure if that's correct Bill, how can they own the club when it was established by the Macedonian community?

[Bill77]

Well i would assume the Victorian Soccer Federation owns the club. But it would be left to committees to run it. Every year clubs would have to pay a license and registration fee to be part of the federation.

Thats like in any sport including the AFL.

[Soldier of Macedon]

So does anybody know who owns it?

[George S.]

that's ridiculous they should punish the person doing it rather than the club.The person will end up doing it all over again because they know the club will get it & they will get away with it..

[Bill77]

This club has always been raped and always will be. Za zal.