Supporter-ownership can work – and football fans must work together to make it happen at all levels in the English league.
That was the message that came through at a rally to look at the future of football “Beyond the Debt”.

FC United of Manchester – set up, owned, and run by its supporters – organised the rally to explore how much further the model could go in the English game as more and more clubs face serious financial problems.

Andy Walsh, FC United’s general manager, chaired the debate and was joined on the panel by:
· Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters’ Federation and a supporter representative on the FA Council
· Dave Boyle, chief executive of Supporters Direct
· Stuart Dykes, of German club Schalke 04
· Barry Dewing of Pompey Supporters Trust

Around 200 fans crowded into the social club at Gigg Lane, where FC United play home games, to hear why the supporter-ownership model should be placed at the heart of the debate over the future of clubs.

Dykes said the model receives support from the regulators to the grass roots in Germany, leading to sustainability and true competition in the leagues. Ticket prices were agreed with supporters and even in state-of-the-art stadia, Schalke charges 13 Euros for a standing ticket.

Clarke called for supporters to set aside their divisions to work towards greater ownership and pledged to wear a green and gold tie in the FA box at Wembley during the League Cup Final – matching Manchester United supporters’ current visibility campaign against the Glazer ownership.

Meanwhile after hearing Dewing lament the lack of investment in Portsmouth FC despite the huge amount of money being poured into the Premier League, Boyle called for ownership not among a few owners but among those who care about clubs most – the supporters.

Speaking after the rally, Andy Walsh said: “If anyone doubts that supporter-ownership cannot work in the top flight, they only have to look at Germany, where clubs can charge affordable prices, develop top players and play in modern stadia.

“Having heard from Portsmouth supporters at the rally, and having spoken to Chester City fans at length in the past two weeks, and with some of our biggest clubs in massive debt – it’s clear that football is at a critical juncture, with the need for leadership and regulation never more evident. An alternative model of how the game is structured has never been more needed with supporter ownership absolutely fundamental to that model.

“We now want to grow the debate about supporter-ownership. Ordinary supporters are the heart and soul of football and they can wield extraordinary power – they need to have more of a say in running their clubs.”

Tags: Debt, FC United, Manchester United

This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Row Z. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.