Burnham reveals plan to ‘reclaim control’ of fooball
MAYOR SPEAKS OUT AFTER SUPER LEAGUE FIASCO
ANDY Burnham has called on the government and football’s governing bodies to ‘reclaim control’ of the game following controversial plans to create a breakaway European Super League.
The Greater Manchester mayor has outlined a five-step plan aimed at giving fans more power over the future of their clubs.
Earlier, the Super League vowed to ‘reshape the project’ after its plans were left in tatters just 48 hours after Sunday’s bombshell announcement.
Chelsea were the first club to pull out of the controversial league, followed by City, Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Yesterday morning Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan followed suit. At a press conference, Mr Burnham – former chairman of Supporters Direct – said the doomed plans highlighted how little control the nation has over football. He was joined by Liverpool city region counterpart Steve Rotheram.
Launching a campaign called Reclaim Our Game, the mayor called on the government and UEFA to introduce five measures aimed at preventing a repeat of this week’s attempts to form a breakaway league.
They are:
An immediate commitment to legislate for wider reform of football regulation
Bringing into law a version of German football’s ‘50 plus one’ rule, which would see season tickets holder balloted on any major changes to their club – such as entering a new competition or moving ground – with a 51 per cent majority required for approval
Move towards the ‘50 plus one’ German model of club ownership, where fans own at least 51pc of a club’s shares. This would be done by making it law for supporters trusts to given the first option to buy any shares that become available
The formation of a new independent, financial regulator for English professional football, which would approve takeovers, oversee a new system to redistribute money through the leagues and create a ‘strengthened’ fit and proper persons test for club owners
A rethink of Uefa’s plans for a revamped and expanded Champions League
Mr Burnham said: “It’s impossible to overstate the value of our clubs to our cities. The value economically, socially,
emotionally, culturally and historically because these clubs have been built by millions of people over generations and they are embedded in all of our lives. What the last few days have shown is how close to the brink we are, how close to the brink English football is. Our nation has barely any control over our national sport. That is a sobering realisation. Our clubs could be changed or taken from us in a heartbeat and there is very little we can do beyond organising, as we have seen this week. Make no mistake – the threat is real, it remains and it will return.”