2. Developing Football Regulation to Encourage Supporter Community Ownership in Football

“It’s all very well football legislating to punish failure but they are not regulating to prevent it.”

Also published in May 2011, this paper focuses on the changes needed in the regulation of football in England, to foster the growth of supporter community ownership. It also outlines the role supporter ownership and involvement can play in strengthening the governance of football and its individual clubs. Supporter community ownership brings greater accountability, reduces short-termism and aligns the interests of the club and its supporters.

Unfortunately, regulatory reform to date has been marginal, dealing with the symptoms of deep-seated problems in English football, rather than tackling their cause: the unsustainable financial state of many clubs and the failure to align the interests of clubs and their supporters and other stakeholders. Supporters Direct believe these can only be addressed by thorough-going structural reform.

Briefing Paper 2