Written evidence submitted by Paul Norris
1. SHORT BIOGRAPHY
1.1 I am a football supporter with at heart the
best interests of the game in this country at all levels. I work
in semi-professional football on a voluntary basis and I've been
involved in semi-professional football as a player, coach (FA
qualified), club secretary and general administrator for the past
10 years. I am currently involved with Eton Manor Football Club
of the Essex Senior League, however, this submission is made in
a personal capacity.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 Football Governance in this country has become
confused at the very highest level since the creation of the Premier
League in 1992. This lack of clarity and direction at the top
of our national game has directly resulted in a number of worrying
developments that, should they be allowed to continue unchecked,
risk the very fabric of the sport in this country. These are:
— The
increasing trend of irresponsible ownership of a number of our
top professional clubs.
— The
continued decline of our national teams (not only of England,
but also of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
— The
destruction of non-league football.
2.2 It is my submission that the only way to
resolve these issues is for clear and appropriate delineation
top of the game. The current Football Association, Premier League
and Football League structure is not working in the best interests
of the game.
3. ISSUES AROUND
THE OWNERSHIP
OF PROFESSIONAL
CLUBS
3.1 Football at the highest level is now a multi-billion
pound international business. Owning a football club, particularly
one in a league with the commercial power and worldwide appeal
of our Premier League has never been more attractive, and wealthy
investors from right around the world have bought, or attempted
buy into English football clubs.
3.2 It is important that we do not make generalisations
about the pros and cons of foreign ownership. Whilst many fans
would prefer their club to be run by the traditional "local
boy done good" type of owner (an example might be Steve Gibson
at Middlesbrough) or through fan ownership models, the reality
is that the finances demanded in order to compete at the top of
the Premier League mean that this is now rarely possible.
3.3 However, it is just as possible to have bad
English owners of football clubs as it is bad foreign owners.
Whilst Portsmouth's financial collapse over the past couple of
years can largely be held up as an example of bad foreign ownership,
the collapse of Leeds United's finances in the first half of the
last decade was under what you might call a "traditional
English regime". Nationality and personal background of an
individual are not relevant factors in relation to whether they
are "fit" to run a football club.
3.4 The "Fit and proper persons Test"
which was introduced by the Premier League in 2004, in part as
a reaction to the events at Leeds United, and since extended to
cover the Football League and the Football Conference, considers
the following as disqualifying factors for people wanting to become
a director of a football club.
— They
have power or influence over another Football League club.
— They
hold a significant interest in another Football League club.
— They
become prohibited by law from being a company director.
— They
are filing for bankruptcy.
— They
have been director of a club while it has suffered two or more
unconnected events of insolvency.
— They
have been a director of two or more clubs of which, while they
have been director, has suffered an event of insolvency.
3.5 In May 2010, Richard Scudamore, the Chief
Executive of the Premier League admitted that the fit and proper
persons test was "limited". I agree with that view.
The disqualifying criteria as they exist are acceptable in as
far as they go, but they do not go far enough. For example, the
existing criteria could be tightened so that any person who has
been involved as a director in two periods of insolvency with
companies of any kind (ie not just football clubs) would be disqualified
from becoming a football club director.
3.6 In addition, the current criteria focus only
on the individual concerned and not on the way in which they are
buying or intending to run the football club. I do not profess
to be an economics expert, but it seems to me that it can not
be right that people can purchase a football club, by using the
value of that club to secure loans, against its assets, that are
required for the purchase. I accept that this would probably be
making a special case in relation to football. I do not know for
certain, but I presume that in no other industry is a potential
buyer prevented from using this specific method in order to purchase
a company. However, I believe that in few other industries do
the companies involved evoke such depth of feeling in the communities
that they represent, and whilst I am sure that there are difficulties
with such an approach on which the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills would wish to make representations, from a pure football
point of view I believe that this would be a positive step.
3.7 Furthermore, I should stress that I do not
believe that football should look to prevent potential owners
from purchasing clubs with borrowed money across the piece. If
the money is borrowed against their own assets and not those of
the club that they are seeking to purchase, then there is a greater
amount of protection afforded to the football club should the
owner fall into financial difficulty, and I believe that to restrict
ownership in such a way would make owning a football club purely
a pastime of the super rich, and reduce as opposed to improve
opportunities for supporter based ownership models to flourish.
Recommendations
— That
the "fit and proper persons test" be controlled and
administered by the Football Association.
— That
the disqualifying criteria is amended as below to say:
— They
have been a director of "any company" while it
has suffered two or more unconnected events of insolvency.
— They
have been a director of two or more "companies of any
type" of which, while they have been director, has suffered
an event of insolvency.
— That
the disqualifying criteria is extended to include any person who
is seeking to undertake any form of leveraged buy out that attempts
to use the assets of a football club as collateral to secure loans
against the club.
4. THE DECLINE
OF HOME
NATIONS NATIONAL
TEAMS
4.1 In the 20 years prior to the formation of
the Premier League England had appeared at 3 of 5 World Cups.
Scotland had appeared in 5 of 5. Wales had appeared in 0 from
5, but Northern Ireland 2 of 5. From the four home nations that
makes a total of 10 qualifications from 20 opportunities. Since
the formation of the Premier League England have appeared at 4
from 5 World Cups, Scotland at 1 of 5, and neither Wales nor Northern
Ireland at even 1. So the qualification rate of the home nations
has dropped from 10/20 (50%) to 5/20 (25%).
4.2 I accept all of the other arguments that
exist as reasons for this decline. Children have so many alternatives
for entertainment now than going outside and kicking a football
around, the Internet, the Playstation, Satellite TV, Social Networking,
Mobile Phones etc. But there is something wrong somewhere with
the way in which we, as a United Kingdom are attempting to develop
young footballers. There has also been a marked move away from
the importance of National teams and a switching of emphasis to
the strength of the clubs.
4.3 This inquiry is interested in looking at
the way in which football is governed, as opposed to youth development
and other related issues (which would require a submission all
of their own), so I will restrict my discussion to the second
point that I raise in the paragraph above. The move of power away
from the National teams and towards the clubs.
4.4 In my view the Football Associations of England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be a lot stronger
with the clubs. There should be an effort to reach collective
agreement, maybe as a group of FAs, with the clubs competing in
the English and Scottish Leagues around the release of players
for international duty. This could be in the form of contracts
that state where a player is called for international duty a club
must release him for that purpose. Any club found to be in breach
of the agreement would be liable to a sanction, for example, a
fine of £100,000 for an English Premier League club, reducing
in size as you move down the league structure.
4.5 This would send a strong message about the
importance of the National teams, which, after all, are the ones
that can often have the effect of lifting the mood of a country,
and creating an economic boost, especially around the time of
a major international tournament.
4.6 In addition, it is my belief that the Football
Associations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales,
should proactively petition FIFA to review the International footballing
calendar. Suggestions have been made that three "International
Periods" of three weeks duration could be built into the
calendar. One to run from the last week of September to the end
of the second week in October. A second to run from through the
first three weeks of March and the last one to run from the last
week of May to the end of the second week in June (obviously in
years of a summer International Tournament this period would be
extended to last the duration of the tournament. All internationals
could then be played in those three periods. This would improve
the standard of international football as it would give managers
prolonged periods to work on team cohesion and it would improve
club football as it would allow managers to better plan for international
breaks. I realise that such a proposal represents a significant
change to the current position. However, we have a footballing
calendar designed for the "old" footballing world, not
for the modern international and commercial game that we have.
Recommendations
— That
the home National Associations seek to secure a collective agreement
with professional clubs in England Scotland with regards to the
release of players for international duty. This agreement to include
penalties for any club found to be in breach.
— That
the home National Associations petition FIFA and UEFA as appropriate,
in relation to a review of the International Footballing Calendar.
5. THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE
NON-LEAGUE
GAME
5.1 As any keen horticulturist will confirm,
if you kill the roots the flower will eventually die. Make no
mistake, non-league football in this country is being killed.
Killed by the crippling cost of running a club, killed by the
declining attendances, killed by the lack of support afforded
to it by the professional game and killed by the amount and the
scheduling of televised football.
5.2 I understand that the focus of this inquiry
is intended to be the professional game. However, I implore you
to consider how the professional game can better support the grassroots.
Too often non-league is forgotten about. It is completely maladministered
by the Football Association, there is no direction, no plan for
support. Last summer Grays Athletic, for financial reasons had
to withdraw from the Football Conference. It took the FA until
three weeks before the season began to decide in which league
Grays would play. This caused a huge amount of delay in a number
of leagues finalising their constitutions, and consequently left
any number of clubs completely unsure as to which league they
would be competing in. It delayed the draws for the early rounds
of FA Competitions for a number of weeks. All particularly sickening
for those involved in non-league when they can see FA Executives
sitting in the posh seats at the World Cup in South Africa at
the same time.
5.3 And Grays Athletic are not the only non-league
club in recent years to have hit financial hardship. Many long
standing football clubs, with terrific amounts of history and
pedigree have gone to the wall in the past 10 years. Many have
reformed, some have not. Darwen FC (founder members of the Football
League second division), Runcorn FC, Fleetwood FC, Kings Lynn
FC, Tiptree FC, Berkhamsted FC, Enfield FC, to name just a few.
That list includes some clubs that were once big names in semi
professional football, but who have either disappeared or had
to be reborn.
5.4 I will deal with the lack of leadership and
direction in non-league in the next section of my submission.
So I turn first to the crippling costs of running a non-league
football club. The simplest cost to eliminate is the cost of league
registration fees and cup competition registration fees. I personally
believe that it is a disgrace that non-league football clubs are
expected to pay to enter the FA Cup. The Cup is about giving the
underdog a chance. In my view no non-league team from the Conference
all the way down, entering the FA Cup, the FA Trophy or the FA
Vase should be charged a competition entry fee. These fees could
easily be recouped by charging the Premier League sides extra
to enter the FA Cup. I would reckon that if you charged every
Premier League club an extra £5,000 per year to enter the
FA Cup you could easily remove entry fees for non-league clubs,
and probably have money left to spare.
5.5 Secondly, televised football has always hurt
non-league attendances in mid-weeks. However, since the introduction
of the Saturday evening televised game (5.15 / 5.30 kick off)
attendances have noticeably slumped. People would prefer to sit
in and watch a live game on the TV than get out and support their
local grassroots club. It may be the case that even if these games
were no longer televised that those supporters would not return
to watching non-league games, but I believe that it should be
considered as an option.
Recommendations
— That
FA competition entry fees should be removed for all non-league
teams. This to be financed by charging all Premier League clubs
£5,000 per year extra for entry to the FA Cup.
— That
the televising of games at 5.30pm on Saturday evenings is prevented,
in an attempt to boost non-league attendances.
6. OVERALL GOVERNANCE
STRUCTURE
6.1 In addition to some of the specific problems
and possible solutions that I have discussed elsewhere in this
submission, I believe that there is an overarching structural
problem in the governance of English football that has existed
since the Premier League breakaway. In my view allowing the Premier
League and the Football League to exist separately of the FA as
corporate bodies is largely responsible for the lack of cohesive
management and governance on the national game. I submit that
power should be centralised in the Football Association (which
needs an entirely separate review of its functions—again
not for this submission or this inquiry). The Premier League even
dropped the reference to the FA in its name in 2007 further highlighting
that they almost see themselves as equal to the FA in terms of
importance as a governing body.
6.2 However, I believe that if the FA was in
control of all decision making, game development, and had the
ultimate decision making deciding power in relation to commercial
negotiations above a trio of game bodies, which each would have
a managing director who reported directly to an elected FA Chief
Executive then there would be a clearer delineation of roles and
responsibilities. In my view the trio of game bodies should operate
as below:
— The
Elite Game Board, which would have responsibility for the management
of the Premier League and the England National team.
— The
League and Competitions Board, which would have responsibility
for the management of the Football League divisions, the FA Cup,
the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy.
— The
Grassroots Game Board, which would have responsibility for non-league
football, the organisation and structure thereof, as well as the
non-league specific FA competitions (FA Vase and Trophy) and for
the FA's youth development programmes and the new National Football
centre.
6.3 Each of these boards would have the right
to take all decisions relating to the day to day running of their
areas of responsibility. However, in relation to suggestions to
change competition rules and in the negotiation of commercial
contracts the individual boards would only be able to make recommendations
and the final decision would be for the Football Association Chief
Executive and the Football Association Executive Board to take
a final decision.
6.4 I understand that this restructuring is a
radical suggestion, which is unlikely to be taken forward. However,
I feel that failure to accept that the Premier League breakaway
has caused confusion and a lack of direction at the top of our
National game will lead only to the accentuating of the problems
in the three specific areas that I have already outlined.
7. CONCLUSION
7.1 I conclude by re-iterating that the individual
recommendations that I have made in response to the very real
problems that I have identified in sections 3, 4 and 5 of my submission
would go some way to addressing some of the immediate governance
problems that English football faces. However, it is my submission
to the inquiry that in order to achieve the very real and necessary
changes to the way English football is governed, consideration
should be given to the kind of more radical change that I proposed
in section 6.
7.2 I would be happy to be invited to appear
in front of the Select Committee to allow them the opportunity
to further explore the written evidence provided in this submission.
I attach an Annex with a full composite list of my recommendations.
Annex A
LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS
— That
the "fit and proper persons test" be controlled and
administered by the Football Association.
— That
the disqualifying criteria is amended as below to say:
— They
have been a director of "any company" while it
has suffered two or more unconnected events of insolvency.
— They
have been a director of two or more "companies of any
type" of which, while they have been director, has suffered
an event of insolvency.
— That
the disqualifying criteria is extended to include any person who
is seeking to undertake any form of leveraged buy out that attempts
to use the assets of a football club as collateral to secure loans
against the club.
— That
the home National Associations seek to secure a collective agreement
with professional clubs in England Scotland with regards to the
release of players for international duty. This agreement to include
penalties for any club found to be in breach.
— That
the home National Associations petition FIFA and UEFA as appropriate,
in relation to a review of the International Footballing Calendar.
— That
FA competition entry fees should be removed for all non-league
teams. This to be financed by charging all Premier League clubs
£5,000 per year extra for entry to the FA Cup.
— That
the televising of games at 5.30pm on Saturday evenings is prevented,
in an attempt to boost non-league attendances.
— That
the FA structure is altered to include three separate Game boards
and provide a clear delineation of responsibility.
January 2011
| 
