Wetherby Park BCFC
Greetings from the Front Office
Established November 17, 2004
Wetherby Park BCFC is a working class football cooperative located in Tacoma, Washington.
Cooperative Manager and founding member tobinov moved the organization on July 1, 2007 to Tacoma, Washington from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Black Cats strive to be a competitive and successful football team on the pitch, and because Wetherby Park BCFC is owned by and operated for the benefit of our supporters, our work continues off the pitch.
The Black Cats Football Cooperative is proud of its aim to promote the beautiful game and work for social-economic justice.
Wetherby Park Cooperative
Wetherby Park BCFC is a (albeit, fictional) cooperative trust, owned and controlled by its membership, with each member being considered an equal in collective ownership. Members consist of two groups: supporters or sponsors.
Each member is given one vote in the administration of Wetherby Park BCFC, regardless of the amount invested in the cooperative. An elected representative is appointed as the Cooperative Manager (aka "Alias") to oversee the inner workings of the football cooperative on behalf of all members. The current CM is tobinov.
All funds received from supporters and sponsors are invested back into the cooperative with a percentage going back into the community in the form of season tickets to any individual or family unable to afford admission as well as sponsorship of Youth and Adult recreational leagues in Tacoma, with an emphasis on recruiting under-served people in the community.
No supporter or sponsor is allowed to purchase naming rights or a controlling share of the cooperative.
Sponsors investment must adhere to the ethical guidelines set forth by the cooperative trust. Advertising space within Tatlin Field Tacoma, in match programs, and on the team kits of the Wetherby Park recreational leagues are given in exchange for the sponsors investment.
Kit Factory
Wetherby Park maintains its own Kit Factory at Tatlin Field. This allows the organization to control kit sale earnings into the cooperative, employs local seamsters, and avoids investment in companies which manufacture kits offshore. There is no direct kit sponsorship. Rather, the cooperative promotes awareness of an organization working for positive change. In honor of Jacques, the cooperative supports the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). [1]
In addition to the kit factory, the cooperative operates its own in-house printing facilities. All tickets, match programs, posters and announcements are printed at Tatlin Field Tacoma. A percentage of ticket and program sales cover basic printing costs and staff while a majority is reinvested into the community.
Current Roster
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Player Name | No. | Pos. | Nat. | Player Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | GK | Template:Flag/ENG | Eddie Ransford | 12 | W | Template:Flag/ENG | Candramadharva Sharma | |
| 02 | DF | Template:Flag/BEL | Bertrand Bazile | 13 | W | Template:Flag/CZE | Oliver Sládeček | |
| 03 | DF | Template:Flag/CHN | 何 泉筏 | 14 | W | Template:Flag/JPN | Katsuya Taniguchi | |
| 04 | DF | Template:Flag/FRA | Elie Freville | 15 | W | Template:Flag/LUX | Richard Beckené | |
| 05 | DF | Template:Flag/CHI | Francisco Tineo | 16 | MF | Template:Flag/ESP | Alberto Zofra | |
| 06 | DF | Template:Flag/BIH | Nazif Gljiva | 17 | MF | Template:Flag/SUI | Bastien Lellouche | |
| 07 | DF | Template:Flag/CZE | Manfred Štěrba | 18 | MF | Template:Flag/ISL | Finnbjörn Sigursteinsson | |
| 08 | DF | Template:Flag/VEN | Antonio Lopez | 19 | R | |||
| 09 | FW | Template:Flag/FRA | Vincent Deloison | 20 | GK | Template:Flag/CAN | Royston Cannon | |
| 10 | FW | Template:Flag/ROU | Nicolae Ghitã | 23 | DF | Template:Flag/NED | Riny | |
| 11 | FW | Template:Flag/RUS | Andrey Tochinov | JCR | C | Template:Flag/POR | Júlio César Rocha |
League History
| Season | Series | Postion |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | V.138 | (#3) Third |
| 38 | IV.48 | (#6) Sixth |
| 37 | IV.48 | (#3) Third |
| 36 | V.70 | (#1) First |
| 35 | V.70 | (#3) Third |
| 34 | V.70 | (#6) Sixth |
| 33 | V.70 | (#4) Fourth |
| 32 | V.70 | (#3) Third |
| 31 | V.70 | (#6) Sixth |
| 30 | V.70 | (#5) Fifth |
| 29 | V.70 | (#6) Sixth |
| 28 | VI.190 | (#1) First |
| 27 | VI.190 | (#2) Second |
| 26 | VI.190 | (#2) Second |
| 25 | VI.190 | (#2) Second |
| 24 | VI.190 | (#3) Third |
North End Workers Council
North End Workers Council love their team and they love their ale. They are rowdy and they are proud but always respectful to the away crowd--Hence, the NEWC slogan:
"we welcome all with open arms...and we will send you home drunk."
Before moving to Tacoma, Wetherby Park was known as Birchollow BCFC and their supporters, the Black Cat Brigade as they are known in the terraces, liked to sing!
They still do! When visiting Tatlin Field Tacoma you will hear the former Brigade anthem:
Birchollow
O Birch-ollow Birchollow! / Cheers to Birchollow! / The Brigade is here, / and we 'ave our beer / Cheers Cheers Birch-ollow! /
O Vis-it-ors! Visitors! / Hello to the Vistors! / We welcome you with open arms / And we'll send you home drunk! / Drunk Drunk! Drunk n' sorrow vis-it-ors! /
O Birch-ollow Birchollow! / Hail our to boys in Black / Black and gold, gold and black / We 'ave your back, go on attack! / Hail Hail Birch-ollow! /
Birchollow! / Onward our Birchollow! / A swift kick, a toe flick, / It's so quick, a hattrick / Onward Onward Birchollow! /
Oh! OH! / The visitors are drunk you know / Oh! OH! / Give 'em the ol'heave-ho! / Oh! OH! / when the final whistle blow-s-OH! /
BIRCH-OLLOW! BIRCHOLLOW! / Forever we will follow / We 'ave our beer / And we're forever here / to cheer our boys / BIRCHOLLOW! /
The Iowa Beer Song
In Heaven there is no beer / That's why we drink it here / And when we're gone from here / Our friends will be drinking all the beer!
Jacques
On December 20, 2008, our beloved Jacques was put to sleep. The Cooperative felt a heavy loss after his passing and immediately redesigned their kits and kit sponsorship in his honor.
Coach Júlio César also dedicated the 37th season to Jacques and decreed Para sempre Jacqo!
Special Thanks
Special thanks to MD-JakobTrier of the Kawasaki_Tigers for his recommendation and assistance in setting up this HT wiki page. Cheers!
