British Government Plan Seeks To Give Fans Ownership Stake In Soccer Clubs

The financial collapse of Portsmouth, coupled with the outrageous debts posted by Manchester United and Liverpool, has pushed British politicians to craft proposals to overhaul the ownership structure within the Football Association, the governing body of professional soccer in the country.↵At the center of the shake-up is a change that would vacate up to a quarter of the ownership stake in each club, to be transferred to its supporters. Each stake would be collectively maintained by elected representatives, with audited accounts and recognition from the Financial Services Authority. ↵↵⇥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 [Football Association] 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 proposal is already being mocked as a rank pre-election gimmick by the opposition party, and that’s not the only hurdle the proposal faces: existing owners would likely file legal challenges against a move to dilute their shares in a club. Suffice it to say, it’s got a tough row to hoe to pass as legislation, but it presents a very intriguing model for democratizing professional sports franchises.↵