Official Documents of the Patriots Europe
Please note that all our official documents like the statutes, the admission regulations, our code of conduct or other regulations are written in German.
Copys in other languages are translated. They are not official legally valid. If you have questions about our statutes and regulations, feel free to get in touch with us.
Legal form, purpose and seat
Art. 1
Under the name „Patriots Europe“, a non-profit organization exists, which is set up as an association in accordance with the present statutes and in the sense of article 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code.
Art. 2
The purpose of the organization:
- European umbrella organization
Patriots Europe, as a superordinate organization, is intended to serve as a link between the affiliated fan clubs, the New England Patriots and the NFL. The European fan clubs are to be given a greater voice.
- Leadership Board
With the Leadership Board, the leaders of the respective fan clubs are given the opportunity for professional exchange among themselves. Recurring leadership meetings take place.
- Promotion and further development of the European Patriots-Community
The international exchange of all fan club members is also to be promoted and developed.
Art. 3
The headquarters of the organization is in Zug, Switzerland.
The organization exists for an unlimited period of time.
Organization
Art. 4
The organs of the organisation are:
- the Assembly of Delegates
- the executive committee
- the financial auditors
Art. 5
The organisation’s funds consist of ordinary or extraordinary membership fees, grants or legacies, the proceeds of the organisation’s activities and, if applicable, subsidies from public and governmental bodies.
The financial year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
The liabilities of the organisation are covered by the organisation’s assets; personal liability of all members is excluded.
Membership
Art. 6
- a) Membership is open to all officially registered Patriots fan clubs in Europe, which have an interest in achieving the organizational purposes mentioned in Art. 2 and whose statutes and regulations do not contradict the statutes and regulations of Patriots Europe.
- b) The regulations of the fan club do not contradict the regulations of the umbrella organization Patriots Europe.
- c) The members of the respective fan clubs are automatically members of Patriots Europe. This membership does not have to be applied for, but is automatically legitimized with the admission of the fan club.
Art. 7
The organization consists of:
- Founding members:
Fanclub Leader or Fanclub Member who founded the organization.
- Fanclub Leaders:
As fanclub leader is meant the board of directors of a fanclub. The board defines 3 fanclub leaders who represent the fanclub to the Patriots Europe. These representatives are considered as delegates. The president is obliged to represent the fanclub.
- Fanclub Member:
Is every member according to the statutes of the respective fanclub and who is officially registered in the fanclub membership list.
- Honorary members:
Fanclub Leader or Fanclub Member who is appointed honorary member by the Delegates Assembly.
- Patriots Europe Staff:
Can be fanclub members, fanclub leaders or other persons who carry out tasks for the Patriots Europe. These persons do not necessarily have to be members of a fanclub.
Art. 8
Applications for membership of new fanclubs are to be addressed to the board of Patriots Europe. The board of Patriots Europe decides on the admission of new fan clubs and informs the Assembly of Delegates about it.
The admission regulations of Patriots Europe apply.
Art. 9
The membership of a fan club expires by:
- a) The withdrawal of a fan club from the Patriots Europe organization. This must be submitted in writing to the Patriots Europe board of directors at least 2 months before the Assembly of Delegates. At the end of the business year it comes into force.
- b) the exclusion for „important reasons“.
The board of Patriots Europe is responsible for the exclusion. The fan club concerned may appeal against this decision at the Assembly of Delegates. If membership fees are not paid, this leads to exclusion from the organization.
If the statutes provide for exclusion for „important reasons“, the judge has no right to examine the reasons for an exclusion decision.
The legal seat of the organisation is in Switzerland.
Art. 10
The membership of a fanclub member or fanclub leader expires by:
- a) the withdrawal of his fanclub from the Patriots Europe umbrella organization.
- b) the withdrawal from the fanclub itself. Thereby the membership in the umbrella organization Patriots Europe automatically expires. The withdrawal is carried out immediately.
Art. 11
The membership of a founding member, an honorary member or the Patriots Europe Staff does not expire when the fan club leaves the Patriots Europe organisation or when the member leaves his fan club. They remain founding and honorary members or Patriots Europe Staff and do not have to pay membership fees.
Assembly of delegates
Art. 12
The Assembly of Delegates is the supreme body of the organisation. It consists of the three delegated fan club leaders of the respective fan club. Fanclub members (i.e. the respective members of the fanclubs) of the respective fanclubs have no voting rights. Founding members and honorary members who do not have the function of delegated fanclub leaders are treated like fanclub members.
Art. 13
The Assembly of Delegates is responsible for the following tasks:
- Adoption and amendment of the statutes & regulations;
- Election of the members of the Board of Directors and the auditors;
- Determining the direction of the work and managing the organisational activities;
- Approval of the reports, acceptance of the annual accounts and budget resolution;
- Decision on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the auditors;
- Determination of the annual membership fee for the fan clubs;
- comment on other items on the agenda.
The Assembly of Delegates may express its opinion on any topic that it has not entrusted to another body.
Art. 14
The Assembly of Delegates is convened by the Executive Board at least 2 months in advance. If necessary, the Board of Directors may convene an extraordinary Assembly of Delegates.
Art. 15
The Assembly of Delegates is chaired by the President of the Executive Committee or by another member of the Executive Committee. This person is the chairperson.
Art. 16
Decisions of the Assembly of Delegates are made by a simple majority of the fan clubs present. In the event of a tie, the chairman has the casting vote.
In the case of changes to the statutes, at least 3/4 of the fan clubs present must accept the change so that it can be made.
Art. 17
- a) Voting shall be by online voting. A proxy by another fan club is not possible. A secret ballot is at the discretion of the board of Patriots Europe.
- b) Each fan club has one vote at the Assembly of Delegates. At least one delegated fanclub leader of the respective fanclub must attend the delegates‘ meeting for the fanclub vote to be valid.
- c) If a member of the board is elected, the own fanclub will abstain for this election.
Art. 18
The Assembly of Delegates shall meet at least once a year after being convened by the Executive Committee.
Art. 19
An extraordinary assembly of delegates will take place at the call of the board of Patriots Europe or at the request of two thirds of the fan clubs.
Art. 20
The agenda of the annual (i.e. ordinary) Assembly of Delegates includes
- the report of the Board of Directors on the organisational activities of the past year;
- the exchange or decision on the future development of the organisation;
- the reports of the treasurer and the auditors;
- the election of the board members of Patriots Europe and the auditors;
- proposals/subjects submitted on time.
Art. 21
The Board of Directors of the Patriots Europe organisation must include on the agenda of the (ordinary or extraordinary) Assembly of Delegates any proposal submitted in writing by a fan club leader at least 30 days in advance.
Art. 22
Demission:
All fanclub leaders/members who have taken on a special task within the organization will hold this position until they are re-elected, voted out or resigned. This includes the members of the Patriots Europe Board of Directors elected by the Assembly of Delegates and all other „offices“ required by the Board of Directors to fulfill the goals of the organization (called the Patriots Europe Staff).
- a) Demissions of the Patriots Europe Board of Directors are submitted at least 3 months before the Assembly of Delegates and come into effect at the end of the organizational year.
- b) Resignations from other offices are submitted to the Patriots Europe board of directors at least 2 months before the Assembly of Delegates and also end at the end of the organizational year, unless the Patriots Europe board of directors defines otherwise.
Executive Board of the Patriots Europe
Art. 23
The Executive Board of Patriots Europe is responsible for the implementation and execution of the decisions of the Assembly of Delegates. It manages the organization and takes all necessary measures to achieve the purpose of the organization. The Board of Patriots Europe decides on all issues that are not explicitly reserved for the Assembly of Delegates.
Art. 24a
The board of Patriots Europe consists of at least five members, each of whom must be elected for two years by the Assembly of Delegates. The board of Patriots Europe meets as often as business requires.
Art. 24b
The board of Patriots Europe includes the following offices:
- President
- Vice President
- Cashier
- Actuary
- Community Manager
- Media Manager
- Event Manager
The board of Patriots Europe must be forced to have a president, treasurer and actuary. All other offices may be delegated by election to another member of the Patriots Europe Board of Directors.
Art. 25
The organization is committed by the collective signature of the president and another board member of Patriots Europe.
Art. 26
The tasks of the board of Patriots Europe are
- To take the necessary measures to achieve the organizational goals;
- Convening ordinary and extraordinary meetings of delegates;
- Deciding on the admission and withdrawal as well as the possible exclusion of a fan club;
- Checking compliance with the statutes, drawing up regulations and managing the organisational assets.
Art. 27
The board of Patriots Europe is responsible for the accounting of the organisation.
Art. 28
The board of Patriots Europe is responsible for the hiring and firing of the paid and volunteer staff of the organization (Patriots Europe Staff). The board of Patriots Europe can give temporary contracts to all fanclub leaders and members of the respective fanclubs or to external parties.
Financial Auditors
Art. 29
The financial auditors examine the organisation’s accounts and submit a report to the Assembly of Delegates. It consists of at least two auditors elected by the Assembly of Delegates. An auditor does not necessarily have to be a member of a fan club.
Dissolution
Art. 30
The dissolution of the organisation is decided by the Assembly of Delegates and requires a three-quarters majority of all fan clubs of the organisation (including those not present). If the organisation has active members, these will be donated to the Sports Promotion Department of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Signature
These statutes were adopted by the delegates‘ meeting on 05.08.2016.
Original printed document is signed by:
- Marco Hösli, President (Switzerland)
- Dirk Salfemeier, Vice-President (Germany)
- Markus Agebrink, Treasurer (Sweden)
- Francesco Cugusi, Media-Manager (Italy)
Last release: 08.05.2020
Author: Marco Hösli, President
It is translated by the service of Deepl.com !!!
The admission regulations
Art. 1
The Patriots Europe, which acts as the umbrella organization for European fan clubs of the New England Patriots, only accepts officially registered fan clubs.
Art. 2
The fan club must be registered in the New England Patriots Fan Club Registry.
Art. 3
The fan club must recognize and abide by the statutes of Patriots Europe.
Art. 4
The fan club statutes may not contradict the statutes of Patriots Europe.
Art. 5
The rules of conduct of Patriots Europe are binding for all fan clubs and their members.
Art. 6
The fan club must have a clear structure and a board of directors of at least 3 persons. There must be a president and a treasurer on the board. All other offices are optional.
Art. 7
If the fan club carries out elections and votes, these must be clearly defined in the statutes/rules and all results must be recorded in minutes.
Art. 8
A membership list must be kept. The corresponding requirements for the membership list are defined in the duties.
Art. 9
If a fan club does not meet one of the admission requirements at the time of application, this must be implemented within one year of provisional admission to Patriots Europe. Only after complete implementation is one considered a full member.
The application for admission
Art. 10
The application as a new fan club at Patriots Europe must be submitted in writing to the board of Patriots Europe and signed by the complete board of the fan club. If the fanclub has statutes, which require the approval of the General Assembly, the minutes of the meeting must be enclosed with the decision to admit the new fanclub.
Art. 11
The application form must be filled in completely.
Art. 12
The statutes/rules and any important minutes of the fan club must be available to the Patriots Europe.
Art. 13
The membership fee defined by the Assembly of Delegates of Patriots Europe must be transferred to Patriots Europe in due time.
The tasks & duties for a Fan club of the Patriots Europe
Art. 14
The fan club has an up-to-date membership list with at least the following data per member:
- Name and first name
- Street + number
- Postcode and city
- Country
- E-mail address and/or telephone number
Preferred are mobile phone numbers
Optionally, further data can be recorded:
- Date of birth
- Date of joining the fan club
- Languages
- Special functions in the fan club or other activities performed for the fan club
Art. 15a
If a fan club does not have its own statutes, it should issue corresponding statutes and regulations and comply with and control them in the future.
Art. 15b
Changes to the Articles of Association and regulations are recorded in minutes.
Art. 15c
Statutes, regulations as well as the list of members with all contact information must always be kept up to date and made available to Patriots Europe (according to national data protection laws) at least once a year or upon request of Patriots Europe.
Art. 16
Applications and topics for meetings must be submitted in due time. Spontaneous topics will only be discussed if time permits. This is subject to the chairperson of the meeting.
Art. 17
The fan club leaders should actively participate in the meetings and enter relevant topics and discussion points in due time.
Art. 18
Each fan club defines three „Fan Club Leaders“ who represent the fan club to the Patriots Europe. The president of the fanclub is always a fanclub leader.
Signature
The admission regulations were adopted by the founding meeting on 05.08.2016.
Original printed document is signed by:
- Marco Hösli, President (Switzerland)
- Dirk Salfemeier, Vice-President (Germany)
- Markus Agebrink, Treasurer (Sweden)
- Francesco Cugusi, Media-Manager (Italy)
Last release: 08.05.2020
Author: Marco Hösli
It is translated by the service of Deepl.com !!!
Code of Conduct
The Patriots Europe, all associated fan clubs and the entire staff are committed to a successful and healthy future for the fan community as well as a respectful and fair sport. This code of conduct is an expression of this understanding.
It is based on the Olympic values „top performance, friendship and respect“.
All Patriots Europe fan clubs commit themselves to respect this code of conduct and share and live by its values.
The fan clubs and their members and all those who are part of Patriots Europe…
…abide by the statutes and regulations which are in force.
…are aware of their role as „fan role models“.
…live and demand a fair behaviour towards all participants in the sport.
…will not tolerate any form of violence or discrimination.
…maintain a decent tone.
…protect the personal rights and personal data of others.
…accept responsibility and report violations of this Code of Conduct.
Report a violation directly to codeofconduct@patriotseurope.org.
Signature
The Code of Conduct was adopted by the founding meeting on 05.08.2016.
Original printed document is signed by:
- Marco Hösli, President (Switzerland)
- Dirk Salfemeier, Vice-President (Germany)
- Markus Agebrink, Treasurer (Sweden)
- Francesco Cugusi, Media-Manager (Italy)
Last release: 08.05.2020
Author: Marco Hösli
It is translated by the service of Deepl.com !!!
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