Government report on football governance
In a week when Spirit of Shankly’s determined campaign to rid Liverpool Football Club of Hicks & Gillett has been doubly vindicated by Pepe Reina’s & Ian Ayre’s accounts of that tumultuous time in our club’s history, the union is pleased to report that many of the issues raised in our submission to the Parliamentary Enquiry into football governance have been considered in the newly published Department for Culture Media & Sport report on the matter.
Covering key areas, such as debt, leveraged buy-outs and supporter ownership, the report echoes many of our members’ concerns that were articulated in the Spirit of Shankly submission to the Enquiry.
In particular, Spirit of Shankly welcomes the report’s commitment to “A Way Forward for Supporter Ownership”:
35. The Government welcomes the Committee’s focus on increasing the ability of supporter-owned clubs to raise funds and increasing the opportunity for supporters’ trusts to achieve a share in their clubs.
As a union with a constitutional obligation to work towards the achievement of supporter ownership of Liverpool Football Club, Spirit of Shankly will continue to work alongside Supporters Direct in order to ensure that Liverpool supporters have access to an active, democratic and fit for purpose Supporters’ Trust.
The Management Committee of the union is meeting at the weekend and will consider how Spirit of Shankly can translate the welcome sentiments contained in the Government report into the reality of Liverpool supporters owning a stake in Liverpool Football Club.
