MP Clive Efford’s ‘Football Governance (Supporters’ Participation) Bill’ that would give football supporters a new right to buy shares in their clubs and to elect representatives to boards is published today.
The bill is also listed for its Second Reading in the House of Commons today (4th December). Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith, whose constituency includes Loftus Road, is one of the 12 signatories to the bill.
Clive Efford MP says’ “It’s time that fans are heard in the boardrooms of football clubs. Too many decisions are made without fans even being consulted. My bill will not give fans a controlling share but it will ensure they have a place at the table and will be able to put their views across.”
The bill would not give fans a controlling stake, but it would allow them to have a voice in the boardroom and where they have the means, to take a stake in their club.
Fans with an appropriately constituted group ensuring openness and transparency, would have the right to buy up to 10 percent of the shares available for purchase when there is a change of ownership, which is when 30 percent or more of the shares on offer. The group would also be able to elect two members or up to 25 percent, whichever is the greater, of their club’s board.
Football clubs are attached to the communities in which they based like no other forms of business. Fans do not choose their clubs after comparing prices or being influenced by clever marketing, it is an emotional attachment that lasts a lifetime. Fans are the people that remain after club owners have moved on and they remain loyal through good times and bad. With few exceptions it is the communities around the clubs that provide the bulk of the fans that pack the grounds and make our football so exciting and attractive to watch. If the grounds were empty the TV companies would not be interested in paying large sums of money to televise games and the money coming into football from TV rights would dry up.
Yet time and time again we see fans being overlooked on issues that directly affect them: naming rights; sponsorship; cost of tickets – particularly for away fans; changing club colours; and costs of merchandise. These are all examples of disputes that have occurred between fans and club directors. It is time that fans had a voice.
The text of the bill is here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2015-2016/0050/15050.pdf