Report on football supporter ownership and engagement launched
25th Jan 2016
A new government report launched on 19 January on supporter ownership and fan engagement says that the supporters’ voice must be listened to by the football authorities and clubs. The report sets out a number of recommendations for what more can be done to encourage greater engagement between supporters and those that run their club, while also helping to remove barriers to supporter ownership, when such opportunities arise for credible supporters’ trusts to bid to own their club.
Supporters Direct, of which Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust is a member, were invited by the Government to be a standing member on the group alongside the Football Supporters Federation, and expert witness members – supporters trusts at Pompey, Swansea City, AFC Wimbledon and Wrexham. It was independently chaired by Joanna Manning-Cooper a Pompey season ticket holder and member of Pompey Supporters’ Trust, who has held a number of senior positions within sport. The rest of the group was made up of representatives from the football authorities – The Premier League, The Football League, The National League and the Football Association – as well as the Department of Culture Media and Sport, with support from appropriate Government departments when required.
The report says that clubs must meet with fans’ groups at least twice a year and tells the FA to consider “greater supporter representation on FA Council”. The report also looks at ways to give supporters more opportunities to bid for their own club when the opportunity arises and calls upon the Owners and Directors Test to be kept under “constant review” by the FA, including “structured dialogue” with the FSF and Supporters Direct.
It’s also recommended that the government should look at tax breaks for supporter-owned clubs via the Social Investment Tax Relief and a new Community Owned Sports Club model.
Reflection on the report, James Mathie of Supporters Direct, stated:
“We have committed a lot of time and effort over the past 14 months bringing forward proposals to the group. The football authorities did engage with the process and we were able to have constructive discussion across a range of topics. We believe the report does represent a significant step forward both at a local level for Supporters Trusts and at national level between SD and the football authorities.
What is for certain is that this isn’t the end of the journey. We will be discussing the report, and where we go from here, at all of the upcoming network meetings, and will continue to look to involve members to secure changes to increase the number of supporters who own or have a voice at their club.”
Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Trust welcomes the increasing commitments that are made towards greater engagement with football supporters, and recommendations that would assist supporters to gain a greater stake in their club, including those put forward in December 2015 for tax relief for Community Owned Sports Clubs.