David Winnie says the success of the German 50+1 model enshrines in law that clubs belong to their communities more than they do any individual, corporate vehicle or state.
The legal cases in football are beginning to mount. Facing 115 charges for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, Manchester City has hit back with its own legal action, claiming discrimination and ‘tyranny of the majority’ from other clubs trying to curtail its on-pitch success.
Whatever you think of Financial Fair Play, the principles behind it are well intentioned, aiming to create a level playing field in football. It is also designed to prevent success being ‘bought’ through unsustainable levels of investment from owners.
One way or another, Manchester City will have to face the charges put against them – just as Everton and Nottingham Forest did last season. But, all of this has proven that clubs, in extremely wealthy, private hands cannot keep their houses in order from a financial perspective.
Club ownership is clearly a central point to the issues in football today, and it is worth exploring alternatives to what we currently have in the UK – especially the English Premier League. Germany, the host of Euro 2024, is a particularly stark contrast.
German fans have been able to reject corporate or state ownership – for the most part – through their 50+1 rule. This means that members associations, made up of fans, hold 50 per cent plus one extra vote of the voting rights in their clubs. Put simply, the fans have ultimate say in how they are run, with a few notable exceptions such as RB Leipzig.
Even without vast influxes of cash from across the world like we have seen elsewhere, football is thriving. Bayer Leverkusen had a stellar season, Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League final – and the average attendance at a Bundesliga match last season was more than 39,000 in a league where the smallest participating team, Heidenheim, is based in a town of just 48,000. Even in the second tier, Bundesliga 2’s average attendances were more than 29,000 compared to the English Championship’s near 23,000 and 10,000 in La Liga 2.
When you watch the matches, you can see and hear the difference in the atmosphere. Stadiums are largely full because tickets are reasonably priced, flags and banners can be seen across the stands, while fans sing and chant – a stark contrast to some matchday experiences in the English Premier League, where it can feel more like a tourist attraction with tickets going to the highest bidder.
We are beginning to see positive moves towards fan ownership at the likes of St Mirren (one of the teams I played for during my football career) and Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, while in England’s lower leagues clubs such as Exeter City and FC United of Manchester are fan-owned. However, to truly replicate the success of Germany, the people who support their teams through thick and thin need to have an actual say in how their clubs are run at the highest level, alongside executives and directors.
Fans are the lifeblood of the game – they do a lot more than just turning up to watch. The 50+1 model is not perfect, but it enshrines in law the fact that clubs belong to their communities more than they do any individual, corporate vehicle, or even a state. Whether that should be our goal in the UK is up for discussion – but it certainly seems to be working in Germany.