TC/1448

Omagh Town in TV challenge over memorial fund matches
By Olga Bradshaw

OMAGH Town Football Club has been accused of scoring an own goal by the makers of the BBC 1 documentary programme, Spotlight.
In a hard-hitting investigative report, they claimed they could prove that thousands of pounds raised in memory of the dead of the August 15 bombing of Market Street, had vanished swallowed by a club in financial difficulty.
Reporter, Chris Moore described the three fundraising matches held in Omagh as "the most high profile fundraising event organised on behalf of the Omagh Fund". He and the rest of his team went on to raise serious questions about the profits from the game, particularly in light of the advertising and sponsorship deals, ticket distribution and the payment of an outstanding VAT bill.
While draft accounts prepared on behalf of the club show a total income of £185,000, the profit for the fund was said to be £29,000.
He said the three teams, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, all in the Premier League, had wanted to benefit the Omagh Fund as well as pay tribute to a town "still scarred by the worst single atrocity of the conflict".
Meanwhile, Omagh Town FC yesterday (Wednesday) issued a brief statement to the media in the wake of the programme.
The statement said the club's management committee would meet tomorrow in the company of its legal team to consider "a full and detailed response".
The statement concluded: "Omagh Town will reply to each claim laid against it by the Spotlight programme and is confident it can satisfactorily rebutt any charge of wrongdoing."
However, during the course of the programme, screened on Tuesday night, he said that memories had faded, and had been replaced by concerns over the "sheer expense" of staging the games and, sadly, "an unseemly row over where all the money went".
One of those interviewed said the draft accounts "raised more questions than they answered".
Moore said the club was mystified as to why it has become the victim of what club officials described as a "concerted campaign of vilification".
"Indeed one club official described the town as being 'a bunch of ungrateful begrudgers', he told viewers.
However, the club refused to take part in the programme.
Moore claimed there had been tension in Omagh during the long wait for the financial report into the running of the three games, and the programme's investigation showed that, though managing to run the three games against all the odds, Omagh Town also used the goodwill generated by the atrocity to benefit financially.
Good faith
"Some money offered in good faith for the dead and injured went to shoring up a football club in serious financial difficulties," he said.
Showing extracts from the amateur film footage of the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the programme makers said the bombing brought waves of revulsion from around the world.
Millions of pounds were donated into what became known as the Omagh Memorial Fund. Sport was a major contributor to the fund, the reporter, Chris Moore, told the television audience.
Irish rugby raised £400,000, and Northern Ireland golfer, Darren Clarke, got £200,000 for his golf classic. Footballers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland played in Dublin in front of 12,000 people and raised £150,000, and the GAA clubs throughout Ireland raised £750,000.
He said none of these high profile games was staged in Omagh itself, and the local football club, which had been keen to play its part, launched an ambitious plan to bring three of Europe's top teams to the town.
The Trustees of the Fund viewed it as a risky business a venture they were not prepared to underwrite or take on themselves, the programme makers claimed.
"The three games were deemed a success, so much so that Omagh Town won a major merit award for transcending sport and contributing significantly to society." The Belfast Telegraph 1999 Award of Merit was collected by club secretary, Pat McGlinchey, and manager, Roy McCreadie.
At the time of the award Mr. McCreadie said that sport was a great healer and paid tribute to those who turned out and enjoyed the occasion.
"Just to see the 20,000 odd people and young people coming along and seeing the smiles on those faces made it all worthwhile for us," Mr. McGlinchey added.
But it was claimed that even before a ball was kicked, Manchester United supporters in Omagh raised concerns about the staging of the games to the United Club, with the result that Man United contacted Omagh District Council.
The outcome was the establishment of a committee to monitor the income and expenditure of the Memorial matches.
The club's handling of the games was monitored by a senior council official and by an independent accountant.
The draft accounts and documents suggest that only £13,404 was taken in sponsorship.
However, the programme makers claimed that, through their investigations, they had established that thousands of pounds donated in good faith were not accounted for.
The most glaring omission is the £4,000 in sponsorship provided by the brewers, Bass. The club, they said, gave an assurance to the independent accountant that the only sponsorship was from UTV and the Daily Mirror, but Bass did sponsor beer for the hospitality tent,
Bass claimed the company agreed with Omagh Town to sponsor the three games to the value of £4,000, and a quantity of free beer for the hospitality tent.
Surprised
"We are somewhat surprised that we are not mentioned as a sponsor, given that we gave Omagh Town a cheque for £4,000", the company said in a statement.
Before the Chelsea game it was prominently reported in the local press that Bass had given the club a substantial cheque.
In the draft accounts Omagh Town say the Daily Mirror gave them £3,404 in sponsorship. The Mirror told Spotlight it paid £7,000 for the sponsorship on the understanding that the amount donated would go towards the Omagh memorial Fund.
A Mirror statement added: "Mirror Group Newspapers sponsored the three games on this assumption, although the invoice received for the sponsorship actually came from Omagh Town Football Club. Included on the invoice, but not negotiated at the time, was a two-year deal for signage at the grounds. No breakdown of the sponsorship money or the signage costs appeared on the invoice. After deducting signage fees from the sponsorship deal we fully expect the remainder of the amount to go towards the Omagh Memorial Fund".
The Sun newspaper paid £3,000 to sponsor the games on the understanding that, after costs, the donation would go to the Omagh Fund, the donation does not appear in the draft accounts.
The building work required to make St. Julians fit to host the games accounted for a quarter of the money raised. A further £70,000 was spent on seating for just over 4,000 people.
Omagh Town's players did not get paid for taking part in the games, but manager Roy McCreadie received a substantial payment for his work in setting them up, the programme claimed.
One of those to face the cameras, Mr. Sean O'Dwyer, chairman of the Fund, said it had now reached over £6 million, with another £100,000 to come.
Turning to the three matches, however, he had this to say: "If you look at the figures that were being made up at that time, it was by no means clear that in fact profit would be made. I mean, anybody that has been involved over years in looking at projections - they are always over-optimistic - over optimistic that you would make a big profit.
"I want to praise the Omagh Football Club for running the matches. I hope they have kept good accounts, and I hope there is some surplus to come to the Fund. But lets hope they are kept properly and I will be happy," he said.
"I think the great thing about these teams coming across here is they came across for the people of Omagh," he added.
The chief executive of Omagh District Council, Mr. John McKinney, was another of those interviewed.
High expectation
In the course of the programme he said there was high expectation that a lot of money would be raised by the matches.
"I think that was fuelled by the club itself and by the ordinary man in the street. And, over time now it appears that now a lot of money will be raised or at least not as much as was expected in the first place," he said.
Mr. McKinney said Omagh Town were not pleased at the establishment of an overseeing committee.
"Our officers are responsible for the health and safety and they gave me advice in accordance with the regulations. I understand that some of the work carried out was not requested by our officers, but I also understand that the work carried out was on the request of the visiting teams and I cannot say whether that's correct or not.
"Manchester United understood that the gala dinner was for the Omagh Fund, indeed that was my understanding. But I met with the officials of Omagh Town and they told me that the gala dinner was for their own funds.
"I contacted Manchester United in writing, and they in turn contacted the club and made it quite clear the gala dinner was for the Fund. I also gather they told them that if this was not the case they would withdraw," Mr. McKinney said.
The independent accountant, Mr. Brian Mellon, also outlined his role in the affair to Spotlight.
He said initially Omagh Town were to take the income excluding the gate receipts. The gate receipts would have gone to the Fund.
"I felt that was a very difficult way to approach it because there would be ambiguity between one type of income and another. What I suggested at that stage was that all income should go to the fund and if Omagh Town wished at the end to administer a 15 per cent levy then that possibility did exist.
Mr. Mellon said there was a payment made to Roy McCreadie, and the position with Mr. McCreadie and his wages was a matter of ongoing negotiations with the Inland Revenue PAYE section in Belfast at the moment and negotiations were ongoing to clear that position. He said £2,500 was the amount paid.
Shock
Another shock came when it was alleged that Omagh Town had taken just over £14,000 out of the money collected to pay an outstanding VAT debt, the programme makers said. The cheque was drawn before Mr. Mellon became involved.
Mr. Mellon commented: "The payment to the VAT man was something that Omagh Town had made themselves. That payment was since recovered and paid back to the Omagh Memorial Matches".
However the programme makers claimed that in a telephone conversation with Pat McGlinchey, the secretary said: "Omagh Town never took any decision to claim an administration fee and we haven't even discussed it. Omagh Town as a committee has never sat down and said we are going to claim this".
Spotlight has obtained a copy of a letter written by Pat McGlinchey and dated February 28 this year which said: "Omagh Town Committee insist on the administration fee as agreed. I suggest that when you have a total income figure less VAT, whatever percentage the £14,000 paid to Customs and Excise by Omagh Town, should be regarded as Omagh Town's fee."
Local councillor, Mr. Pat McDonnell, was the only councillor who attended the Good Friday council meeting to discuss the draft accounts to be interviewed by the programme makers.
The Tyrone Constitution has since learned that Mr. McDonnell was one of those to take a keen interest in the accounts when they were presented at the special meeting.
Good idea
He told the television crew: "Certainly it sounded like a very good idea and there was a perception that not only would the matches be a wonderful experience for soccer lovers in the area, but there was also a solemn belief from those who put their hands in their pockets that this would be a fantastic money spinner for the Omagh Funds itself as well.
The chairman of Omagh Support and Self-Help Group, Mr. Michael Gallagher likened the alleged anomalies in the draft accounts to a "Chinese puzzle".
"It just gets harder and harder to understand. I cannot understand it at all - why the accounts don't show the Bass sponsorship.
"There has got to be a lot of answers. I feel there has got to be a lot of answers given by the club. Looking at the accounts I can see a lot of questions which I would like answers for. It is just totally unbelievable that that is not in the account," he said.
"I think to raise £30,000 from three games that totalled over £200,000 it seems a very very small amount of money.
Speaking after he received a copy of the draft accounts, Mr. Gallagher said even from a brief look at them there would be other adjustments to be made.
"I think that for me they raise more questions than they actually answer", he said.