Can fans help protect the future of football?

We’re working in partnership with the FSA to promote sustainable community ownership of local clubs.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is the national representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. They act as advocates for better fan engagement, cheaper ticket prices, fan rights, diversity and more.

A key focus for the FSA is promoting supporter ownership as a way of creating a sustainable future for clubs. This is something that Anthony Collins (AC) fully backs and our team has been providing the FSA with consistent support on a range of initiatives over the last year.

Glaring issues around governance

A recent government fan-led review of football governance by Tracey Crouch MP revealed that the way football clubs are run is unsustainable, with many getting into unsustainable levels of debt. It found clubs are poorly run with ‘reckless decision making chasing an illusion of success and a disconnect between the interests of fans and owners’.

To secure the game’s future, it’s clear to see that things need to change. Community ownership has the potential to provide a broad sustainable base for preserving clubs as community assets.

Ongoing support

The FSA regularly turn to the AC team for advice. Typically, we support with governance arrangements, advise on how football grounds are owned and get involved with potential mergers.

In the last year, we have helped with a shareholder agreement where a club was looking to transfer ownership from private owners to a new supporters’ trust. Our team has also advised a market town who are looking to take ownership of the football ground to protect the future of the club.

Improving supporter engagement

AC is proud to be supporting the FSA in its mission to promote community ownership and help make it possible. Ultimately, it will mean football is run more sustainably, protect clubs’ heritage and improve supporter engagement.

Looking to the future, we are looking forward to providing the FSA with the support they need and acting as a consistent source of expert legal advice.

“AC has offered support to a number of FSA affiliates and been instrumental in helping provide solutions to some difficult and sometimes complex questions. Community ownership in football is not easy and presents many challenges. Our clubs and supporter societies are trying to balance running successful operations whilst delivering benefits to the wider community.

AC has not only assisted in providing legal advice, but the team’s commitment to community ownership models also offers an assurance that the advice is provided from a position of solidarity. Working across a number of sectors, AC provides a breadth of experience in governance issues and practical insights which allow our members to be confident that the support received is sound and relevant.”
Andy Walsh, head of national game and community ownership, the FSA