Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

49 England still not satisfied The matter came to a head at a meeting of the AAA’s F & GP Committee on 21 February 1991 when Bill Evans opened the meeting by stating his concern that the AAA was introducing into the draft BAF-AAAE contract new concepts that were at odds with the principles on which the AAA and BAAB members had agreed to go ahead with the BAF. He was clearly concerned that, with a date set and promises made publicly, these issues might, once again, undermine the whole project; this time permanently. He wanted to know why over-complicated financial mechanisms were being introduced by England into the contract and, more fundamentally, why the promised AAA of England financial guarantee to BAF was to be withdrawn. In a somewhat contrived argument, Derek Johnson claimed that “ the AAA will no longer support a relationship whereby it hands over the negotiation of its contracts ” and that they were now merely “ prepared to discuss the question of the guarantee ”. Here was the potential to destroy the very basis of BAF and, as I pointed out, if BAF did not have the clear authority to negotiate with TV and sponsors, it had no future. The meeting ended without matters being finally resolved except that one thing had been confirmed - there would be no guarantee; and the remaining conditions needed further work. With time running out, both sides were forced to compromise and an agreement was eventually achieved. The AAA used its muscle to extract terms that were very much in its own favour and which were to generate resentment in years to come as the AAA of England added to its own financial reserves at BAF’s expense. The agreement, as finally settled, would regulate affairs between the BAF and AAA of England, was to run for 15 years and then continue for successive five year periods unless either party opted out. It defined which events belonged to BAF and which to the AAA of England and what were regarded as the legitimate income and expenditure of BAF. Importantly, it specifically stated that all the income from the commercially valuable events would go to BAF which would also have the right to negotiate television and sponsorship contracts. So far so good but the sting in the tail was that 40 per cent of BAF’s annual surplus after tax was to be paid over to the AAA of England, 10 per cent to the three Celtic associations and BAF was to retain only half.