WHY FANS OWNED?

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AFC Welwyn is moving towards a fans-owned not for profit model which brings significant benefits that go beyond the football pitch. When a club is owned and operated by its supporters, it creates a deep sense of pride, belonging and shared purpose. Decisions are made with the best interests of the community in mind, rather than driven solely by profit or outside interests. This model encourages transparency, accountability, and long-term sustainability, as the Club’s success is directly tied to the well-being of the local people. Community ownership also fosters inclusivity, giving everyone a voice in shaping the Club’s future and ensuring it reflects the values and spirit of Welwyn Garden City and the surrounding areas. Ultimately, it will transform AFC Welwyn into more than just a football club — it becomes a unifying force that brings people together, strengthens local identity, and invests in the area's social and cultural life.  

The Club will convert to a CIC (Community Interest Company) which will be run as a not for profit organisation. Therefore, a minimum of 65% of profits will be re-invested back into the Football Club to benefit the community and  support the ambitious plans we are targeting.  Dividends for owners will be capped at a maximum of 35% of profits.

This means that when you own a part of AFC Welwyn you will only ever receive a maximum of 35% of your share of profits as 65% of profits will be re-invested into the Club.  Your ownership will also come with significant membership benefits in return for your support of the Club.

The Club will issue and sell over 51% of the share capital to fans which will be available to purchase under the 6 different ownership models which come with varying benefits.  You can see this in the "Become an owner " section of the website which outlines what fans will receive for the monthly membership fees.  There will be a maximum number of owners in each membership level which is outlined on the "Become an owner" page.

The monthly membership fees will ensure that the Club can continue its growth off the pitch and continue our success and targeted promotions on the pitch as well as being able to invest in our infrastructure with our planned stadium and training facilities where we can continue to grow our youth structure to serve the community.

There are additional benefits to converting to a CIC as this will allow access to grants that will support the Club financially to deliver more football and well-being projects to our community.

The next chapter is going to be exciting.  We look forward to you joining us for the ride!

Further details will be provided regarding a proposed site in the Welwyn Garden City region that we are in discussions with both the land owners and the local MP.  Preliminary discussions with all parties have been positive and we are now waiting on a date for a further meeting to discuss the next steps.  The site will be sufficient for us to build a Stadium that will meet Football League regulations with 5 additional pitches for youth teams and senior training facilities.  This would give us 6 pitches in total including the pitch within the stadium.  Naturally, until the we have been given the green light on our discussions we have limited the information that is public as the acquisition of suitable land can be very competitive. Our aim is to be back in Welwyn Garden City by the 2028/29 season.

UPDATE - We have another meeting scheduled with the MP Andrew Lewin on the 3rd October 2025 to discuss our proposals for one of the sites we have identified in Welwyn Garden City in more detail . We will post updates of the meeting here.