Dover Athletic announce financial losses of £140,000 as chairman pleads for financial support

DOVER ATHLETIC chairman Jim Parmenter is begging for financial support after announcing the club has suffered financial losses of £140,000.

 

The club are heading back to the Isthmian League Premier Division for the first time since 2009, as they are rooted to the foot of the Vanarama National League South table with 21 points from 35 games.

The Crabble outfit are 14 points adrift of safety with 11 league games remaining.

The club released details of its financial situation up to May 2023 to Companies House on 24 February and chairman Jim Parmenter - who is listening to offers from people who want to purchase the club - has revealed that the club has suffered more financial losses. 

“It’s not unusual for the club to make a loss and does so in most years, this loss has been supported financially by my family as we have done for the last 18 years,” Mr Parmenter said in a statement.

“However, we must continue strive to make the club self-sufficient as our generosity cannot be relied upon forever.

“At the moment we are in a self-defeating spiral. We are not winning games, so less supporters come to watch and therefore less money is available for the playing budget which makes it more difficult to put a team together to win games and so it goes on.

“There is no magic formula, there is only one way to succeed going forward and that is for everyone to pull together and support their towns club.

“Twenty-five percent of the losses are down to increases in cost, utilities, stock costs, etc, the remainder is down to a drop in gate revenue and associated matchday revenue.

“Therefore, please support your club, come to games, bring a friend and maybe come a little bit earlier and buy a pint of a burger, as you can see from the accounts all revenue and a lot more goes into running the club and the playing budget.

“If we can raise our positivity, improve crowd numbers and income we can be very positive about the future.”

Dover Athletic welcome Maidstone United to Crabble tomorrow (15:00).

The Stones were knocked out of The FA Cup in the Fifth Round on Monday, bravely going down to a 5-0 defeat at Championship outfit Coventry City – the 1987 FA Cup winners.

Visit Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com