Press Release: For immediate release 05/08/2014
Definitive survey demands FA intervention, criticises poor finances, calls for fan involvement in clubs
In a poll published today by Supporters Direct, and undertaken by leading market research company ICM Research, fans of English clubs have backed Supporters Direct’s call for fan involvement in the ownership of football clubs, with nearly 40% agreeing that football rules need to change to enable it.
Other results showed that only 18% of fans believe that their clubs are financially well run, backed up by the 100+ insolvencies in the top five divisions of the English game since 1992. There was also overwhelming backing for fans to be ‘formally consulted on any changes relating to their football club (for example name, shirt colour, badge or location of the football club), with 77% agreeing, an area that Supporters Direct led a session on at the Supporters Summit on last weekend (26th July) at Wembley Stadium, an issue of serious concern following the cases of Hull City, Cardiff City and Coventry City.
Also very significant was the recognition that ‘football is broken’ and that ‘The FA needs to intervene to fix it’, chiming with much of Greg Dyke’s video message to those attending last week’s supporters’ summit, where he also said that the FA Council fails to represent the game as it is – adding as he did that fans were ‘under-represented’.
The headline results:
The running of the game/governance
• 44% of fans agree that “Football is broken and The FA needs to intervene to fix it”
• 49% agree that "supporters and their representatives should be more involved in the running of football”
Clubs and how they should be run and owned
• Only 18% of fans said that their clubs were financially well run
• 77% of fans agree that they should be formally consulted on any changes relating to their football club
• 38% agree that football supporters should be entitled by football regulation to a role in the ownership of their football club
• 54% of fans agree that “Football clubs should be run as a combination of a community business that balance results on the pitch with work in the local community”
Speaking about the results, Robin Osterley, CEO of SD, said: “This definitive poll – the most comprehensive ever undertaken – of the supporters of English football clubs about how they view the running of the game, shows irrefutably that the average fan does care that their clubs are run badly; that they do want to see the FA get control and run it in the interests of all, not just a minority of clubs or officials at the top; and that they believe that part of that should mean a role in the ownership of their clubs.
“We want this to be a signal to all those who share the same views. Whether those in the game’s governing bodies; politicians frustrated at the slow pace of reform that they have laid out again and again; or those in grassroots football suffering from poor decisions a local level. There is now a critical mass of people who want change, and we can, working together, achieve that. This is an opportunity that we must seize.”
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About the poll and about ICM Research:
ICM conducted two surveys on behalf of Supporters Direct. Survey one interviewed a random sample of 2002 GB adults aged 18+ via online between 25th – 27th April 2014, of this sample 908 were English football fans. Survey two interviewed a random sample of 2001 GB adults aged 18+ via online between 30th July and 1st August 2014 of this sample 823 were English football fans
Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk
About Supporters Direct
- Supporters Direct helps fans to set up democratic cooperatives (known as supporters’ trusts) to gain influence in the running and ownership of their clubs.
- SD represents over 200 supporters trusts’ and similar organisations England, Scotland and across Europe, with over 600,000 members.
- 36 clubs in the UK are majority owned by their supporters including League 2Clubs Portsmouth, Exeter City, Wycombe Wanderers and AFC Wimbledon.
For more about SD’s work, go to: www.supporters-direct.org
Read SD's response to the Greg Dyke FA Commission on our website: http://www.supporters-direct.org/homepage/research/policy/response-to-the-fa-chairmans-commission