Football Supporters' Federation chair Malcolm Clarke puts supporter ownership in context
Football's Future: Will Supporter Ownership Save The Game?
The conclusion of yet another record breaking Premier League television deal in April might lead followers of the beautiful game to believe football was in good health.
Yet billions of pounds from Sky and Setanta cannot disguise the reality that despite a blossoming top division, the majority of professional clubs in this country draw from an under-nourished pool of finance.
Nothing illustrates this better than the fact that more than half of Football League clubs have entered financial administration –the verge of extinction – since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.
Yet from this parched earth has emerged a new model of ownership. Alongside limited and public limited companies, supporters groups have begun to take a proactive role in the ownership and management of professional clubs.
Will these Supporters’ Trusts provide the answer to English football’s deep malaise?
This website considers:
* To what extent supporter ownership is a new development or a return to the game’s roots
* Whether the circumstances of many supporter takeovers mean the club’s survival is success in itself
* The future of supporter ownership in the lower leagues and whether it can spread to the Premier League
* Whether membership club Barcelona are a good role model for English trusts
* What the game’s regulators could do to make taking over and running football clubs more straightforward
