May 2023 Advisory Board Meeting minutes

Question from Supporters

1. Given that Zav Austin is no longer to be Vice Chair, but will “continue to attend on match days”, how does this impact the Karachi FC initiative? 

2. And can you please be clear WHY the club is no longer planning for him to be VC? 

3. Zav was very transparent in his interview with the OSC that he had a legal issue when he was younger. Is this the reason?

Club response: 

1. The Karachi work was initiated by Zav Austin in a purely voluntary capacity. He is not the Vice- Chairman. He does not hold any position of influence within the club and does not receive a salary.

The Pakistan arrangement is aimed at attracting and developing talent, and we have seen some minor benefit from that in terms of our coaches getting international experience, but it is not a major part of our plans going forward. Zav’s voluntary work may well continue but it is not funded by the club.

The MOU with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office simply lays out a basic framework for how players can be brought into the club through official and above board channels, which is crucial as we are committed to doing things the right way. It was not signed by Zav as he does not work for Swindon Town, but obviously he has built bridges between STFC and relevant officials.

There was no response from the club that for the past 20 months (since August 2021) Zav was in the position of Vice-Chairman of Swindon Town Football Club without going through the EFL Owners and Directors Test due to the fact that he is disqualified because he has served 12 months or more in prison. The club tried to back track because the ramifications for someone who is disqualified and is placed in this position is huge. The MOU with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Karachi was signed by Zav Austin on behalf of Swindon Town Football Club and if they can prove otherwise, then publicise the document.

Why is someone who has no official role at the club, and is prohibited from doing so by the EFL, representing the club in very official environments such as meetings with government ministers and signing MoUs?

Club response:  You are referring to the recent photo of Zav Austin with a government official. To reiterate the message from last month, Zav is not the Vice Chairman and does not hold any position of influence within the club. He does though have a close affection for the club and wants us to do well. He individually initiated a project in Pakistan aimed at attracting new talent to our club, and we have seen some minor benefit from that, but his work is voluntary, and not funded by the club. In terms of the photograph that was shared, this was a continuation of that voluntary work and supports our longer term goals of finding players from all Commonwealth regions.

There is no reference to the signing of the MOU in this response, ignore it and people won't pick up on it.