Planet Swans ArchivesJackArmy.net was contacted by Phil Chant this morning regarding our recent articles on the Striker scheme run from the Vetch Field promotions department. Phil was clearly disturbed and annoyed to read what has been written and provided us with an interview for the site. This is what he had to say
“Obviously I have read what has been said on the web-site in the past few days and want to be able to have my chance to have a say. I can confirm that I was still signing cheques on the Striker account until October but I was asked to stay on as a signatory by Martin Burgess although I left to work for a similar scheme with the Welsh Air Ambulance in April last year. I was still able to sign cheques until the Tony Petty regime so it is correct that you will find my signature at the bottom of winners cheques.
“There is a tie-up between this scheme and one run by Weston-Super-Mare football club. They had a scheme in place but it was not as well supported and it seems to make sense to tie the two up as the prize fund will be higher. This is not unusual, for example the Cardiff scheme has a tie-up with one run at Blackpool.
“It is not a requirement that at least 50% of the funds into the scheme be paid out in prizes. In fact the law is that it is no more than 50% and could even be as low as 1% if that was what we wanted. Every week we would put £x into the prize pool and then the draw would be made. Some weeks it was made at Swansea City and other weeks at Weston-Super-Mare.
“The scheme is a registered charity in it’s own right and after the deduction of prizes the monies remaining were paid over to the club together with a list of what the staff involved in the scheme were owed. The football club paid the wages of the scheme.
“I had previously worked at Reading with Mike Lewis but there were no problems with the scheme there as far as I am aware. After Reading I worked at Weston Super Mare and when I moved back to Reading to live I took a job at Fulham doing a similar scheme because I was fed up of the travelling back and for every day to Weston. I was then bought to Swansea by Peter Day who was Chief Executive at the time. Since leaving Swansea, I have had very little contact with Mike Lewis – of course I know him having worked with him but contact these days is minimal.”
