With the publication of the fan-led review into football thrusting governance of the fair game into the spotlight, Oldham Liberal Democrats will propose a motion in support of Fair Game to the next meeting of Oldham Council (15 December). Fair Game is a national campaign that seeks radical reform in the way football is managed to make the ‘beautiful game’ more fan-focussed and financially sustainable.
Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani will propose the motion. He explained: “I’m a City fan – I was there when we were losing games in the third tier, and I have seen us ride the rollercoaster all the way to the top. As much as I love watching the great players it has brought to my club, I don’t think that the way football works is even close to fair.”
“I have friends who support Macclesfield Town. I have friends who support Bury FC. Clubs that have failed, and which have ripped the heart out of those towns when they went into meltdown. Too many teams are too close to doing the same elsewhere.”
“The Fair Game manifesto proposes practical measures which will refocus football clubs on the score and not on their profit margins, and which recognise that fans and not sovereign wealth funds should come first.”
“Football clubs are not profit centres; they give the people of the town a sense of identity and pride. Ask anyone from outside of the Borough what they know about Oldham and the chances are they will tell you they visited Boundary Park and it was cold! My first ever game in the flesh was at Boundary Park, sitting on the shoulders of my brother-in-law in the Chaddy end, watching Joe Royle’s team gunning for promotion. I hate to think that the next generation might not know that feeling.”
As well as signifying support for the manifesto, the Liberal Democrats also want Oldham to do more to set the pace to help fans acquire struggling professional football clubs.
Councillor Diane Williamson who is backing Sam said: “Ideally, we need to see clubs part-owned, or wholly-owned and operated as co-operatives, by lifelong local fans for local benefit, rather than profit.”
“Oldham Council is a founder member of the Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network. We believe Oldham should work with other member Councils to develop a model which can support fan groups to register their local football club as an Asset of Community Value and provide them with a chance to buy and operate the club should the opportunity arise.”
“To see a club saved for future generations would really be ‘football coming home’.”
The motion reads to the next meeting of Oldham Council (15 December 2021):
Liberal Democrat Motion 1 – Time for the Fair Game manifesto in football
Council believes that football, the national game in the UK, is currently in crisis.
COVID-19 has devastated the revenue of many lower-league clubs, with the loss of some notables, and dozens more clubs teetering on the brink of survival. Frequently bad management has gone unnoticed or ignored and clubs are run unsustainably, putting at risk all the history, heritage, and economic benefit they bring to an area – often in pursuit of short-term gain.
Council believes that football clubs are not ordinary businesses; they are historic sporting institutions that are both a civic and community asset, and a source of pride and unity, in their hometown or city.
Council therefore supports Fair Game, a national campaign that seeks radical reform of the way football is managed and run, specifically its call for:
- An independent regulator for the sport.
- A refocus on ‘values’ rather than profit.
- The establishment of a Sustainability Index, which will reallocate the payments made to clubs to reward those which are run well, respect equality standards and properly engage with their fans and their community.
- Fans to be given the final say on any proposed change to a club’s ‘crown jewels’, including the club’s name, nickname, colours, badge and the geographical location from where the club plays.
Council also notes that former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch MP is about to publish a Government-commissioned fan-led review into football governance and believes that some of its findings will mirror Fair Game’s aspirations.
As a Co-operative Council, we would also like to see football clubs co-operatively owned by their fans, rather than owners with no connection to a town or with more interest in extracting profits from the club, rather than the team’s on-pitch performance.
Council therefore resolves to:
- Declare its support for the Fair Game manifesto, ‘Solutions for our National Game’, and calls on other councils to join us in our support.
- Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Minister for Sport, our local Members of Parliament, and the Chair of the Local Government Association Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, asking them to support and work towards implementing Fair Game’s manifesto and the findings of the fan-led review led by Tracey Crouch MP.
- Ask the Council’s representative to the Co-operative Council’s Innovation Network to request the CCIN investigate how best member councils can support the registration of their local football clubs as Assets of Community Value and facilitate their future purchase and operation, when the opportunity arises, as fan-owned co-operatives.
Proposed by Seconded by
Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani Councillor Diane Williamson