A fragile financial situation, a drop in the number of licensees, a declining budget… what to remember from the FCBP general meeting

Les membres du bureau ont démissionné. Le comité directeur élira le nouveau bureau d'ici la semaine prochaine. Midi Libre – C. L.

Le football club Bagnols Pont-Saint-Esprit a présenté son bilan sportif et financier lors de son assemblée générale lundi 9 décembre. Un nouveau président sera élu d’ici la semaine prochaine.

The Bagnols Pont-Saint-Esprit football club (FCBP) held its general meeting on Monday, December 9 at the Office des entreprises. “We tried to fly the flag despite the resignation of our president in September”, launched the secretary Mounir Zekhnini, who resigned, like the entire office. During the sports review, Jordan Fortunato, the sports director, announced a sharp drop in the number of members. 268 footballers are wearing the club's colors this season compared to 398 last year. This “bad surprise” at the start of the school year has dealt a blow to the club's finances, which were already very fragile. FCBP still managed to limit a loss to 8,696 euros for the 2023-2024 financial year while the forecast announced minus 30,000 euros. “It still has an impact on the club's cash flow, warns Christophe Martinez, the accountant who presented the financial report. We dipped into our reserves. When Covid came out, we had reserves of 73,000 euros. Having lost 26,000 and then 64,000 euros in the last two seasons, we no longer have any reserves and therefore no longer have the working capital necessary to cover the gap between income and expenditure.”

“We lived beyond our means”

Bagnols' first deputy, Maxime Couston, questioned the office on the cause of these two consecutive years of significant losses. “We lived beyond our means for two years, quite simply.” As a result, the working capital at the end of last season amounted to -26,981 euros,“that is to say that if the club stops, we have this sum to repay”. “As long as we do not make a surplus, we will always be on horseback with our cash flow.”

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For this new financial year, the forecast is balanced with a budget of 152,000 euros. “We had to act quickly, says the accountant. The first to be impacted were the players of the first team (relegated to Regional 2 this season) who were asked to make an effort by changing the terms of rewarding matches won. We replaced expenses with match bonuses. Today, we can no longer afford to do just anything because there are still 150 little guys who still want to play for FCBP.”

60,000 euros in subsidies from the mayor of Bagnols

Faced with this delicate financial situation, the Bagnols town hall has reaffirmed its support “for this historic club”. The allocation of an exceptional subsidy of 10,000 euros will be voted on at the next municipal council meeting on December 18. It is in addition to the 50,000 euros granted in April. “In 2023, we voted, in total, 85,000 euros, indicates Maxime Couston. This shows how much interest the municipality has in this club. Now we have to get the FCBP back on track.” The deputy for sports also gave an update on sports facilities.“We are currently getting a cost estimate for the project to install a synthetic pitch at the Bosquet stadium. We will also be razing the current changing rooms (they will be rebuilt where the stadium offices currently are) of the Léo-Lagrange complex to create a living space and a 150-space car park that will also be used for the La Pyramide hall.” For his part, the deputy for sports in Pont-Saint-Esprit, Stéphane Vauquoy, was pleased that “new matches are taking place in our town”. “Rest assured of the community's support”, the elected official said. The municipality of Pont-Saint-Esprit provides a 15,000 euro subsidy per year.

To conclude this meeting, around ten people joined the steering committee that will be responsible for electing the new board by next week. Mounir Zekhnini, who is expected to take over as president of the club, wants to make FCBP “a flagship club in the region”.

An encouraging sports record among young people

While the first team was relegated to Regional 2 at the end of the season, the youth sports results are more encouraging. The three U12/13 teams moved up a level and achieved "a great start to the season" according to sports director Jordan Fortunato. The U15 girls won the championship, they are now playing in U18 and are currently 6th. In this category, the boys team finished 12th in R1 and was therefore transferred to R2 U16. The two U16/U17 teams were champions in D1 and D2 as were the regional U20s. "For this 2024-2025 season, we had the satisfaction of being able to be renewed at the level of our young "hopeful" label (the first level). It now extends until 2027." This label aims to reward "the most deserving clubs in terms of structuring and developing youth practice".

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