"In
recent months I have received hundreds of letters from concerned and worried
constituents about English football club ownership and I feel this has now got
to a stage where the Government needs to take a stronger role in vetting
individuals before they are allowed to buy into our football leagues.
While
I am resistant to the idea of the Government involvement in the day to day workings
of football, such as transfers and ticketing, I feel that there should now be
closer links between the Government and the FA when it comes to the ownership
of football clubs.
In
recent years we seem to have a constant stream of clubs who are facing the
courts as they owe large amounts of money to creditors such as HMRC among
others. More often than not, HMRC are not able to reclaim all the money owed to
them, which is costing the UK exchequer money.
It
seems patently obvious to me that the FA’s approval system, “The Fit and Proper
Persons Test” does not work, otherwise these situations would not keep arising.
At what point does the Government plan to get involved and take a stand over
ownership which is detrimental to both football club and the nation’s finances?
At
this current point in time, there is nothing in the fit and proper person’s
test which examines any bid for a football club in detail, and there is no test
to prove that there is the genuine money behind the bids. I am aware that the
Premier League “Fit and Proper Persons test” is slightly more stringent than
that is applied in the football league. However, the Government must put
further pressure onto the league to tighten up its guidelines. It is
detrimental to both fans, the football clubs and the country if these ideas are
not put into force.
We
are incredibly lucky in the fact that football is a huge part of the national
culture in this country, and people have strong feelings towards football
ownership. These feelings sadly come to light in an even greater way when they
feel their club is threatened.
My
biggest worry is that in the next few years a large football club is going to
disappear from the football league due to poor management of clubs finances.
Football clubs cannot be allowed to go into oblivion such as this and the
British football culture needs to be protected. What also needs to be protected
is the British money which is lost when football clubs are unable to pay back
money to bodies such as HMRC, and even to smaller creditors who can be
potentially put out of business due to reckless owners running up unserviceable
debts.
What
immediate plans does the Government have to oversee the buyouts of football
clubs? What can the Government do to work alongside the FA to enforce more
stringent checks as a part of the “fit and proper persons test?” What can be
done to protect the vulnerable lower league clubs where the test is less
stringent?
As
a keen and concerned football fan, as well as a local politician, I would
welcome any thoughts you have on these issues and would be glad to speak to you
about them if you think appropriate."
