FOOTBALL MUST COME BACK TO THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY
Neville passionately makes case for fans to be involved running clubs
Former England defender Neville – now one of the most powerful voices in the game – is leading a call for change within the English game to stop the culture of greed and the heart being ripped out of the game.
Neville has a unique perspective as a former Manchester United player, club legend, Sky pundit and also co-owner of League Two club Salford City.
That is why he can see “good bits and bad bits” from the Project Big Picture proposals from the Big Six to shake up the Premier League and also save crisis-hit clubs in the EFL, who are serious danger of going bust.
The fear is that the FA is no longer strong enough or powerful enough to run the game and the Government must step in to appoint an independent regulatory body to oversee change.
Neville has signed up to Saving The Beautiful Game: Manifesto For Change along with former FA executives David Bernstein and David Davies, Andy Burnham, Denise Lewis (above), MP Helen Grant and lawyer Greg Scott, who bring different qualities to the table.
But at the heart of the campaign is a desire to bring football back to the average fan and to stop the powerful clubs becoming too powerful so that they ruin the game. They have i in brought forward their own proposals and at the heart is a new regulatory body, embracing the German model where fans get a say, clubs are licensed and there is a ban on owners borrowing against fixed assets.
Neville said: “Do I want the Glazer family or Roman Abramovich or Daniel Levy or John Henry running football in this country and being able to do what they want? No, I don’t.
“Football was the heart of the community. That’s what football clubs were, it was the relief after a long, hard week and it is still that for many. “The fabric and intent of the game has got to come back. This is not a criticism of the Premier League – but we have to pull it back to what the roots of football are. It’s become non-affordable, less accessible to people. There’s enough money in the game for that not to happen.
“I see the desperation in the faces and in the words of League Two owners and chairmen on the calls because they just want help. They’re crying for help. That’s not necessarily Salford City because we’d be looked at differently. We’re not the norm, we are the exception.
“I’m passionate about football, I’m passionate about the Premier League, I’m passionate about non-league, the EFL, because I’ve experienced it all. I love the PFA and the work that does.
“The reality of it is that there is enough money to distribute to have a fairer deal for everybody – but fans must be included and must be at the heart of it.”