PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE LIMITED REPORT OF A CONFERENCE OF CLUBS, MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE, held at the Cafe Royal, London, on Friday, 17th April, 1953, at 10 a.m. The President welcomed members, and as to-day was the 65th anniversary of the founding of the League, he extended to them, on behalf of the Management Committee, best wishes for many happy returns of the day. In order to get through the Agenda quickly and efficiently he requested that one representative only from each Club should speak on one topic. The President then informed the Meeting that since the Agenda had been prepared, the Players' Union had notified the Ministry of Labour that a dispute existed between them and the League and had submitted details of their claims. There seemed to be nothing new in it, and, in point of fact, the claims were almost identical with those rejected by the Investigating Committee last year. The President stated that the Management Committee had considered the claims and were drafting their observations on them, which would be forwarded to the Ministry of Labour in the course of the next few days. Secretaries and The President referred to the decision made at the last Annual General Meeting, and on behalf Managers of the Management Committee reported that the Secretaries and Managers Pension Scheme Pension Scheme. commenced on the 1st December, 1952, and was now working satisfactorily. He stated that an interim report would be submitted by the Trustees at the Annual General Meeting in June, but the first Annual Report of the Trustees would not be available until the Annual General Meeting, 1954, owing to the fact that the financial year does not end until 30th November, 1953. He was sure that the Clubs would appreciate that the payment of the premiums by quarterly instalments caused a fair amount of administrative work, and the Management Committee emphasised the necessity for (a) all contributions to be forwarded immediately on demand; (b) all changes of appointments and salaries to be notified to the Trustees immediately they occur. Entertainment The President reported that the latest instructions issued by the Customs and Excise Tax on Season Department with reference to the Entertainment Tax on Season Tickets had only been received Tickets. an hour ago, and the Management Committee had not had an opportunity of considering them. The instructions set forth in detail the methods of assessing Tax on Season Tickets, and apparently incorporated the High Court Judgment resulting from the action brought by Queen's Park Rangers F.C., supported by the Football Association and the Football League. The leaflet shows very clearly that the issue of Season Tickets at reduced rates of Tax is open to all Clubs, provided they carry out the suggestions in the leaflet, and are certain that the tickets are issued in accordance with the instructions, that is, each Ticket showing the price of admission so that theoretically it could be considered as one issued for a specific match. He was sure that he was speaking for all Clubs when he offered sincere congratulations to the Queen's Park Rangers F.C. and its Secretary for the success achieved in this direction. Entertainment The President stated that with regard to Entertainment Tax generally, the Management Tax. Committee had made strong representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, unfortunately without success. He was of the opinion that had the Chancellor offered any amelioration, it could only have been on condition that prices of admission were correspondingly reduced. In the meantime, the Management Committee had been considering a possible amendment to the Finance Act which someone could be asked to move during the debate in the House of Commons. They had found it exceedingly difficult to do so, but would, however, continue to explore such a possibility. Rule 37. Levy on Queen's Park Rangers F. C. stated that they had brought this matter forward in order to get Gate Receipts— clarification of the Rule in view of the different form of Season Ticket which would now be issued. Season Tickets. It would appear that the 4 per cent, levy would only be due in respect of League matches and not for Reserve matches, and there would now be little difficulty in apportioning the cost of Season Tickets accordingly. They were supported in this by Swansea Town F. C. The President reminded the Meeting that all players, whether first team players or reserve team players, were included in the Provident Fund, if registered with the League. It had not been found necessary at the present to make a levy on reserve team gates, although the players are benefiting from the Provident Fund, and he thought that under the circumstances the present arrangement was not a one-sided one. Television—Cup Liverpool F. C. referred to the Football Association decision to televise the Cup Final this Final. year, which had been made in the face of strong objections on behalf of the Football League. As a result of the action of the Football Association a full programme of League matches had had to be re-arranged, which would cause a considerable loss in revenue to the Clubs, and, although it might be said that the televising of the Cup Final is essential, his Club were of the opinion that 1