Own goal for football (Letter to Guardian, signed by Nick & Mark) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
Own goal for football Letters Saturday May 21, 2005 The Guardian The takeover of Manchester United by Malcolm Glazer should prompt a major debate about the governance of football in Britain (Bankrupt the firm and save the club, May 17). To allow one of the nation's leading sporting clubs to be buffeted on the whims of the market demonstrates a failure of leadership and governance by the football authorities, Westminster and Whitehall. It is ironic that the only sporting regulatory body to investigate this takeover will be the National Football League in the US. Many leading commentators are starting to appreciate these failures. The legal status of many football clubs as publicly traded companies whose shares are available for purchase by all-comers, with no safeguards, has come to be seen by many as inappropriate for a sports club. The boards of most companies with this status usually have a legal duty to maximise returns for shareholders above all other considerations. The basic purpose of a professional football club is, or should be, measured by completely different standards. Is the team performing well? Is the club producing good young players? Are spectator facilities the best they can be? Is the club contributing as much as it can to the community in which it has its roots? The heads of both the European and world football bodies have recently stated that the public company structure is not appropriate for football clubs, yet there is silence from both the government and the game's authorities. Every football supporter dreams of success and trophies at the end of each season. More and more fans are beginning to realise, though, that success, to be real, must be sustainable. We have seen what happens when clubs like Leeds United "live the dream". We have also seen that football clubs becoming public companies has led to people buying into them who have no interest in the game. They look for what they can make out of it. Over the past few years, the list of clubs suffering from the whims of the market has grown: Wrexham, Wimbledon, Swansea City, York City, Leicester City, Barnsley, Chesterfield. The list goes on. The current inquiry into the governance of the Football Association being undertaken by Terry Burns offers one last opportunity to correct the problems. The evidence of the Premier League to this inquiry is not encouraging, however. The top 20 clubs appear to believe there's nothing wrong with football that wouldn't be fixed if the Premier League were in charge - this from a league whose clubs lost a total of �318m, according to the last published independent report. Football's governance and oversight needs root and branch reform. The Glazer takeover at Old Trafford will only increase the pressure for the break-up of collective selling of television rights. This would have a catastrophic effect on a game where the wealth gap grows ever wider and competition on the field ever weaker. Domestic and European legislators must understand that professional sport cannot be treated like any other commodity traded in a competitive market. The football authorities have this one last chance to show that they can fulfil their duty as guardians of our national game, and to show that they are capable of providing independent, objective and fair regulation. The time for reform is now. If football is incapable of reforming itself, then the government and parliament must act. The millions of us who love and follow the game deserve no less. Malcolm Clarke Chairman, Football Supporters' Federation Philip French Chief executive, Supporters Direct Graham Kelly Chief executive, Football Association 1989-1998 Alan Keen MP Chairman, All-party parliamentary football group Gordon Taylor Chief executive, Professional Footballers' Association Brian Lomax Member, Independent Football Commission Billy Bragg Richard Faulkner Nick Towle Chairman, Shareholders United Mark Longden Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association Phill Gatenby Manchester City Centenary Supporters' Club Jan Todd Sunderland Supporters' Association Ian Bason Foxes' Trust (Leicester City supporters' trust) Robert Pepper Huddersfield Town Supporters' Trust Gavin Butler Halifax Supporters' Trust Dr Richard Hall Walsall Supporters' Trust James Wheeler Rams Trust (Derby County) Steve Hine Stoke City Supporters' Trust Ash Connor Port Vale Supporters' Trust Susan Tunstall Forever Bury (Bury supporters' trust) Brian Burgess Bees United (Brentford supporters' trust) Lionel Webb Cambridge Fans United Phil Tooley Chesterfield Football Supporters' Society Rick Keracher Lincoln City Supporters' Trust Steven Robinson Aylesbury Town Supporters' Trust Keri Usherwood Notts County Supporters' Trust [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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