Football Governance

Written evidence submitted by Cambridge Fans United (FG 14)

August 2010 saw the tenth anniversary of the supporters trust. It was held during a period of relative stability at the club. In the ten years since we have been in existence CFU have seen many changes at the club and been involved in many crisis moments. These are always beyond our control; however, they impact greatly on the supporters and even more so, on the individuals on the trust board through their private and working lives.

Many of the situations could have been avoided if the supporters trust had been listened to and their advice acted on. We have been seen too often as the emergency service, having to react to situations beyond our control.

CUFC, has been and currently is a privately owned club and over the past ten years the Supporters Trust, CFU has seen and had to react, to the following: 

· The sale of the club’s Abbey Stadium to fund player wages, HMRC bills and a second loan. This was after CFU had raised £100k twelve months previously to help towards the payment of an earlier loan.

· The Club going into administration within six months of the ground sale. 

· A failed attempt to re-purchase the ground in 2009 having been given less than a month’s notice. 

· Boardroom upheaval and changes of personnel on a regular basis. We have seen 10 different Chairmen in 10 years.

· Having to cover the inability to pay player wages and invoices on several occasions.

· Unrealistic budgets set for the club of its statue. This allows the owners to buy extra shares to cover losses and increase their share percentage. 

· The lowering of our share percentage and value in the club through share devaluation. We worked hard to buy shares and become involved responsibly getting to the point of owning nearly 20%. At that stage the shares where devalued from 50 pence to 5p and we were effectively moved aside. The only option for the Trust at the time was to refuse and allow the club to enter administration for a second time. Since then we have not been able to keep up with other investors.  We have also been refused shares being transferred to us from existing shareholders. 

In the past ten years we have also -: 

· Invested over £350k in the club through shares and additional monies through donation, gifts and sponsorship. 

· Been allowed a Fans Director. However, he can often be sidelined during the decision making process. He is a lone voice as a minority shareholder and minority board member, which make meaningful influence difficult. Without embedded rights for supporter directors to uphold and maintain agreement on what can be shared externally a supporter director is not enough. It certainly does not bring the benefits, including business that community ownership will release.

· Invested hundreds of unpaid hours working either at the club or on fund raising activities. 

· Organised community events  

· Helped managed the club through administration.  

It is now less than four months since our 10 th anniversary  and we see ourselves reacting to another crisis and the Club has been put up for sale. The sale is against a backdrop of pending debts and the non payment of invoices. The leading director no longer has the funds to bank roll the Club.  

We would like to be a part of that process and move the club into community ownership; however money will talk and decide if the true custodians or another individual or group will do so. We are concerned that the current major shareholder will possibly leave the debt that was budgeted for, behind.  

How is that fair on the supporters? How can supporters respond to that? If the Trust approaches financial institutions they are judged against the previous business and their performance. 

There has to be change in the ownership of clubs. The current model and the structure of football is flawed. It is based too often on short term plans and personal opinion. The average supporter has no say or real opinion in what happens at their club. It encourages debt and irresponsibility. 

Football clubs have been ruined by asset strippers and by individuals in it for their own gain. It is supporters who will have to live with the consequences because of an emotional attachment. 

Until there is real change in the way clubs are run and owned, then football will lurch from disaster to disaster. Supporters will continue to have no real say and then blackmailed to react to situations that are beyond their control and could, and should, have been avoided.

Football clubs are not like other businesses. Supporters and communities should own clubs not individuals. Future decisions should be based on what is good for the club and not a 6 month push for glory.

Supporters want to watch and support, not to be in the courtrooms and holding buckets week after week.  They want to talk about goals and not about due diligence, burn rates and recovery plans. The only way that can happen is for them to be allowed the opportunity to run their own clubs and have the knowledge that there are rules and sustainable financial plans in place to allow that to happen. 

Most directors and owners of football clubs do not have either the will or the inclination to change and allow supporters into the boardroom. The Football Association has the power to change things but chooses to bury its’ head. Why should either of them change - they go together, hand in hand. The only real chance supporters have for change is via legislation or government intervention. Currently football is like the band playing on the Titanic, the game is sinking, everyone knows it, but we carry on playing regardless.  

The time for action and real action needs to be taken now. Tomorrow or the next day is not good enough. Football clubs are about to fail, the industry is about to fail. The people running the game are to blame, but seem unable, or lack the will and the imagination, to change course now after twenty years of failure and greed. The average fan is deeply sceptical and distrustful of them to make the necessary changes required to move the game forward.

A revolution is required now for our national game to be saved. Children need to be encouraged back; families need to be involved again.

We believe there is an alternative, but we need help to make that happen. 

The way forward is to move towards community football clubs.  These have two main elements. 

Firstly, it is a sporting club and should always maintain the ambition and drive for success that any other club has. Its purpose is to improve and rise through the leagues in the same way as other teams.  It should, however, do so in a responsible way and not put the overall club at risk of financial failure in the future. Supporters want to see success, but not at the risk of long term failure of the business and club. 

Also, as a sporting club it should be spreading its net into other sports both locally and nationally to raise profile and national acclaim in sporting achievement .

Secondly, football and football clubs have a unique place in society. They have the ability and also the facilities to help change lives and communities. It may be a child or a teenager needing help. It may be an adult who is requiring a fresh start. Everyone, whether interested in football or not, can be involved within the social elements. Everyone, whatever their background, ability and culture should have access to the facilities. 

Programmes for example dealing with health, education, well being, social responsibility, a football club can make a difference and benefit the wider population and community. There is currently a Learning Centre existing at the club and other facilities that can be used by the wider community for both social and economic reasons.

I am aware of several clubs looking at the prospect of moving towards community or supporter owned clubs in the country at present. It allows the opportunity a club to thrive, removes the dependency on any one individual while allowing individuals to invest in either the sporting or community element of the project. They deserve the chance to try. 

However, additional help is required

· Possibly, by allowing tax relief for fans to invest in their clubs via supporters trust that change and offer real community activities. Football clubs could become third sector providers in the community providing real services to their local area. However, Learning Centres are currently being closed.

· Trust owned clubs could receive a larger piece of the Television money to encourage change to happen.

· We also need in addition to financial support the ability to receive assistance and guidance to an agency that specialises in the management and the organisation of running trust clubs.  In the ten years I have been involved with the trust I have received advice on numerous occasions. Advice and help which as an organisation we could not afford or resource. I think it proves much about the FA, Premier League and Football League that no one wants to provide financial assistance to the one organisation that could help change football for the better. Supporters Direct should be financed by the industry at source. Why is it not? Could legislation to create a "Football Levy" be introduced as currently it would appear the people who are running football do not want supporters involved or the current model changed.

· We need tighter financial controls such as those proposed by the UEFA Financial Fair Play plans to stop the boom and bust, instability and difficulties for sustainable clubs to compete.

I hear about plans for the Big Society and how individuals need to become involved more. Football can be a vehicle for its success. The Prime Minister was happy to lend his support to the (albeit failed) bid for the World Cup to the UK, acknowledging the importance of the game to our country. The arts and the classics are important in developing the mind. Sport and football are important in the development of the body. 

We are at the edge of the cliff. Someone will and can make the decision if football jumps or moves back. It will probably have to be the government alone that can decide. Will it stand back and allow the fall to happen? Will it stand back and allow the individuals and organisations to keep the status quo? 

There are now some clubs in the UK who have become supporter owned, community clubs setting examples of how this can be done successfully and believe that this model should be encouraged for the future, in the best interest of our beloved clubs, our communities and could be integral to the move towards The Big Society. 

I believe this model deserves a chance - big businessmen have failed the game. 

Football clubs should belong to the community and be managed by people who really care.

January 2011