NON-LEAGUE supporters are being urged to make their voice heard in a fan-led review of football governance.
DCMS Secretary of State Oliver Dowden says the recent European Super League proposals has left the government with no option but to act in rebalancing the power structure of the domestic game.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a “root and branch” investigation of the game’s governance to be chaired by former sports minister Tracey Crouch.
The fan-led review’s aim will be to explore ways of improving the governance, ownership and financial sustainability of clubs in English football.
And the Football Supporters’ Association believe it is an opportunity for a watershed moment for English football.
“People have asked what the relevance of the Super League is to lower league clubs and that is less funding despite the promises being made by Super League clubs,” the FSA’s head of national game and community ownership Andy Walsh told The NLP. “We feared this would eventually mean less money.
“We want fans to contact us with their ideas for how the Non-League game can be reformed and we want them to contact their local MPs.
“We would say to Non-League supporters make sure your voice is heard as well. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have a major review of the way football is governed and financed.”
The review is being endorsed by Supporters’ Trusts up and down the country, such as at Torquay United, for whom a spokesman said: “Football exists for fans – without them it’s nothing!
“We endorse the fact that at last fans’ opinions are to be heard and taken into account.”
Northern Premier League chairman Mark Harris also welcomes the fan-led review but says there must be caution and an understanding of the nuances of the semi-professional game, including the fact many Non-League clubs are effectively run by their supporters already.
“One size does not fit all,” Harris said. “For example, transfer window – one size doesn’t fit all. Salary caps in the EFL, doesn’t really work at our level.
“There are many examples where the principles are perfectly sound and valid. But the devil is in the detail. The practicalities tend to undermine them at our level.
“There are nuances to this. The principle is to be welcomed. There is caution to be applied that we do not wind up applying regulation that is not to the benefit of Non-League football. Supporters already have a strong involvement in our clubs.
“If there is a club which doesn’t have supporter engagement then that is a major gamble because at our level, more than the professional game, supporters are our lifeblood.
“As the pandemic has shown, we can’t operate without paying fans. By definition that shows how important fans are at our level.”
A big area of concern is the distribution of money through the Pyramid with calls for more to be filtered down a long-running argument.
“We shouldn’t forget the Premier League has, this season, supported our clubs,” Harris said.
“We need to build the relationship with the professional game. We need to go to them with strong business cases.
“In the same way the Premier League gives good funding to the National League Trust, I would like to see the Premier League and other bodies, like the PFA, supporting things like the Trident Community Fund, which is building fan engagement.
“We can’t sit back and expect that to come, we have to be proactive.”
