We ignore the warning signs at our peril and I hope this Review protects the good and the special but sets a clear course for a stronger national game with the interests of fans at its heart. It is both true that our game is genuinely world leading and that there is a real risk of widespread failures and a potential collapse of the pyramid as we know it. As was remarked to the Review, clubs are only one bad owner away from disaster.įor those who say that English football is world leading at club level and there is no need to change I would argue that it is possible simultaneously to celebrate the current global success of the Premier League at the same time as having deep concerns about the fragility of the wider foundations of the game. Build on its many strengths, modernise its governance, make it fairer and stronger still at every level, or do nothing and suffer the inevitable consequences of inaction in towns and cities across the country - more owners gambling the future of football clubs unchecked, more fan groups forced to mobilise and fight to preserve the very existence of the club they love and inevitably more clubs failing with all the pain on communities that brings. I believe there is a stark choice facing football in this country. The Review has formed the firm belief that our national game is at a crossroads with the proposed ESL just one of many, albeit the most recent and clearest, illustrations of the many deep-seated problems in the game. The same can be said for this Review and I want to thank each and every one who has contributed. It is often said that football would be nothing without the fans. The sophistication of thought about the problems of the game and solutions presented by those fans was also remarkable. Where this passion had been betrayed by owners it has been heart-breaking - and testimony from those who had lost their club in Bury particularly so. The commitment and passion of the fans who have contributed to the Review has been genuinely humbling to see. Since the Review began, triggered by the European Super League ( ESL) debacle, the Review team heard over one hundred hours of evidence from passionate fans, club leaders, interest groups, football authorities, financial experts and many others who engage day in and day out with football. It has been an absolute privilege to chair the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance working alongside an exceptional panel and a brilliant team of officials. Four decades ago while kicking a ball against a wall with ‘NO BALL GAMES’ pinned to it I would never have dreamt that English football would have been bouncing from one crisis to another and that I’d be charged with helping the nation’s favourite pastime navigate its way beyond and on to a brighter future. My love developed from kicking a ball to watching it on TV, going to Reachfields to cheer on Hythe Town, to collecting Panini stickers, coaching girls and finally getting a season ticket at Spurs.ĭespite being banned from playing football at school, simply for being a girl, the passion for the sport has stayed with me throughout my life. I would play for hours with the boys on the estate only pausing for the cars to pass or being called in for tea. Like millions of other children my first experience of football was playing it in the street outside my childhood home.
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