British Labour: Give Football Clubs Back to the Fans

[Dusty Ayres]

Apologies if this has already been posted....

Quote:
The government is to unveil radical proposals that would give football fans first option to buy their clubs when they were put up for sale and require clubs to hand over a stake of up to 25% to supporters' groups. The ideas, due to be included in the Labour manifesto with a promise of action in the first year of a new government, are designed to give fans a far greater say in how their football clubs are run and overhaul the way the game is governed.
It is believed that No 10, which has been working secretly on the plans for weeks, has resolved to deliver concrete proposals to tackle growing public disquiet at the level of debt carried by some clubs, the ownership model of others and the dysfunctional structure of the Football Association.
The plans include:
• Requiring clubs to hand a stake of up to 25% to fans in recognition of their links with their local community.
• Implementing a change-of-control clause that would allow fans a window to put together a takeover of their club if it was up for sale or went into administration.
• Giving the football authorities a deadline to reform the FA and remove "vested interests" from the board, and streamline decision making.
• Introducing a unified system of governance that co-ordinates issues such as club ownership and youth development.
• Allowing professional leagues and the FA additional oversight of club takeovers.
The plans are likely to put Gordon Brown on a collision course with the Premier League, which has vigorously defended its free-market model in recent years, but he will claim that the proposals are for the good of the game.



Some background on English football club ownership:

• American billionaire Malcolm Glazer purchased Manchester United in 2004 for 1.5 billion pounds, including £900 million of debt (and £60 million a year in interest).
• An Abu-Dhabi-based consortium bought Manchester City F.C. in 2008 from embattled Thai president Thaksin Shinawatra, injecting untold billions into the English transfer market, and inflating transfer prices by throwing money around like it was their job--including a terrible £32-million swoop for Brazilian flop Robinho.
• Americans George Gillett (ex-owner of Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club) and Tom Hicks own Liverpool F.C. with about £50 million in debt. They are rumored to be looking to sell to another Dubai consortium.

Government's plan to fix football: give clubs back to fans

 

[Roger Wilco]

Pure populism. Labour had how many years in power to do something like that and they suddenly discover this topic two weeks before the election? Give me a break.
It would be the right thing to do of course, but it's also completely unrealistic.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Actually, it's being done in Germany and another country, as I will also show here:

Organisations such as Supporters Direct have long looked with envy at the German Bundesliga, where 51% of the club must be owned by supporters, and Barcelona, where democratic elections are held every four years. There are two policies on the table, from several under consideration, that appear to have gained most favour with Brown and are now being subject to legal scrutiny by aides.
The first would, in effect, force clubs to hand a proportion of their shares – perhaps up to 25% – to fans. These supporters' trusts, comprising democratically elected representatives, would be recognised in law and maintain the clubs' links with their communities in a variety of ways. The mechanism for doing so would be left to the football authorities to work out.
The second proposal would give fans the opportunity to put together a takeover bid for their club in the event of it being put up for sale or going into administration.
In a pre-defined window, they would be able to seek financial backing for a new ownership model that might lead to a community-owned model, a shareholders' trust or a single owner who pledges to be democratically accountable to fans. The club's price could be set by an independent, external auditor.

Football reforms: fans' transfer window to buy clubs


This concept could be used in other kinds of sports as well around the world (hockey, NFL football, NBA basketball, baseball, etc.) It might even make sports better.

 

[Roger Wilco]

The difference is that it was always done this way in Germany. German football has a completely different history than English football. German football maybe more than in any other country was based on amateurism (officially up until the 60s or something I think) and in many ways still is. Football in England was professional and capitalistic almost since the very start.

Don't get me wrong, this proposal is absolutely the right thing to do for the sport (although I'd question whether it's the government's business to get involved in this), but you can't turn back time.

 

[Count Zero]

Aren't those proposals a bit obsolete since the government that made them hasn't been in office since May? Has the current government chimed in on the issue? If not, I'd say it's dead.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Bit late with this one, Dusty.

And as Roger said, it was pure populism. I remember laughing myself hoarse at the time at the idea this could ever happen, let alone that it was said solely to win votes.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Bit late with this one, Dusty.

And as Roger said, it was pure populism. I remember laughing myself hoarse at the time at the idea this could ever happen, let alone that it was said solely to win votes.

But this might be something truly different from Labour-an actual socialist endeavor in favor of labor and the people (Imagine if Barack Obama and Steven Harper even considered this for the NFL and the NHL?) At least, it's something to work for, and I hope that it succeeds enough for the concept to happen world wide, because the 'business' of sport needs this, and needs it badly.