FANS CLUB TOGETHER

England’s victory in the Women’s Euros painted a hopeful and optimistic future for football and showed there is another way to success – despite the system, rather than because of it.

It’s a shot in the arm for the beautiful game, ahead of a controversial winter World Cup in Qatar, and at a time when the way in which the sport is run has come under the spotlight.

At the top of the game, big clubs have become bigger brands and magnets for billionaires and global businesses. That has seen clubs leveraged with debt in a bid to chase on-the-pitch dreams and off-the-pitch dividends.

Manchester United has been saddled with almost £600 million in debt since the Glazer family took over in 2005, with the owners pocketing up to £11m per year, while Premier League clubs have a combined debt of around £3 billion. The money-making efforts among the elite have moved the game away from fans. This was no more apparent than when the breakaway European Super League was announced and quickly shelved in April 2021.

For clubs further down the football pyramid, unfit owners and living beyond their means can have ruinous consequences. Derby County are starting life in League One for the first time since 1986, after mismanagement almost pushed the club out of existence.

For other clubs, like Bury FC in 2019, it spelled the end. Fans are the ones who suffer the most.

But for some clubs, football really is nothing without the fans. Fan ownership of clubs offers a defiant alternative to moneybags owners and overpriced season tickets. It’s a chance to start a new club