Trusts play a vital role in maintaining community ownership and fan engagement as football clubs become increasingly driven by commercial interests.
Alex Matthews has a high reputation in the UK, having worked in the sports industry for decades and accumulating rich experience in football club management. For decades, he collaborated with many English football clubs, enabling them to develop rapidly and gain a large number of fans. More importantly, with his participation, the ownership of club members was consolidated.
The ultimate goal of the trust fund is to strengthen the connection between the club and the community, so that it can better serve the public. The club is composed of fans, so they should have decision-making and speaking power. Alex said, “Only by ensuring that fans have control over the club can we increase their loyalty and achieve the healthy development of the organization.
In the 1990s, the commercialization of football was very severe. During this period, the English Football League became increasingly reliant on television broadcasting and big name sponsors, and in the process, the nature of the clubs also underwent certain changes.
In the 1990s, privatization of English clubs became increasingly common, and some organizations were even controlled by investors or conglomerates, weakening the decision-making power of fans. This phenomenon has caused dissatisfaction among many fans.
In order to cope with the challenges brought by the commercialization of football, fans have begun to establish trust institutions and based on this, establish membership based football clubs. Practical experience has shown that this operating method can prevent clubs from being overly commercialized and promote their healthy and stable development.
Alex said, “Establishing a trust fund can not only solve the problems currently faced by the club, but also enable the club to continue to develop in the coming decades”
“The benefit of establishing a trust fund is that fans can have real-time access to the club’s financial and operational situation, and then make more feasible and effective operational decisions, enabling the club to maintain strong competitiveness”
In the 1980s and 1990s, Wimbledon FC was famous for its aggressive playing style and ‘Crazy Gang’. This team won the FA Cup in 1988.
By 2000, the management of Wimbledon FC proposed moving the club to Milton Keynes, a new town about 56 miles from London. This proposal immediately aroused strong opposition from fans, who believed it was a departure from the club’s roots and history.
In 2002, Wimbledon Football Club was relocated to Milton Keynes, causing dissatisfaction among fans. The fans then established AFC Wimbledon, which managed the club through the supporters’ trust model and quickly rebuilt the team, demonstrating the feasibility and success of member ownership.
After the decision to move was announced, a group of loyal Wimbledon fans decided to take action and create a new club to keep their passion and loyalty to local football.
“2002 was a year I’ll never forget. When Wimbledon FC was moved to Milton Keynes, it was a gut punch for all of us old fans. I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t Wimbledon anymore.’ We lost our club. ” Said Tom Harris, a lifelong AFC Wimbledon fan who has been supporting the club since its inception.
“We didn’t give up. A bunch of us fans got together and decided we were going to rebuild our own club. That’s how AFC Wimbledon was born.”
The enthusiasm and determination of the fans ensured the club’s rapid success after its foundation. The first match, held on 10 August 2002, attracted 4,657 spectators, demonstrating the fans’ support for the new club.
Tom said “Returning to Plough Lane was like a dream come true. For us older fans, Plough Lane was our true ‘home.’ Even though we’d rebuilt AFC Wimbledon, something always felt missing without Plough Lane.”
“When we finally got the chance to return to Plough Lane, the feeling was indescribable. I remember walking into the stadium with my son—he’s 14 and had never been to Plough Lane before. But as we entered the ground, and he saw all the fans just as excited as we were, I think he understood why this place means so much to us.”
Supporters’ trusts are usually registered as worker co-operatives or community benefit societies, which provides them with legal protection and enables the trust to democratically manage the club.
Most trusts adopt a ‘one person, one vote’ voting system to ensure that all members have an equal say. This structure encourages broad member participation and ensures that the decision-making process is democratic and transparent.
Alex said, “One of the biggest challenges we face is maintaining a club’s community essence in a highly commercialized football environment…Sure, most fans are eager to be involved in the club’s management, but there’s always that worry that trusts might limit the club’s competitiveness in the market. “
“Our job is to help people see that trusts don’t weaken clubs; they actually give them a stronger foundation.”
“Take AFC Wimbledon, for example. They had a mountain to climb when they first started, but through the power of the trust, they not only rebuilt the club, but they’ve steadily climbed the ranks in English football. It’s a perfect example of what can be achieved when fans come together.”
The model of a trust-managed member-owned club is not without its challenges and drawbacks.
Emily Roberts has over 10 years of experience researching sports management and socio-economic development, with a particular focus on the governance models of football clubs and the impact of commercialization.
Emily said “Member-owned clubs in the UK face significant challenges in an increasingly commercialized football environment, with the rise of the Premier League, the operational model of football clubs has shifted towards heavy commercialization, relying on massive investments and substantial broadcasting revenues. “
“It can be seen that the business model of membership clubs also has certain limitations, especially clubs managed through trust funds, which often face financial problems”.
According to relevant reports, the most well-known football clubs in the UK, such as Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea, usually have sufficient financial resources to ensure the normal operation of the clubs. According to relevant statistics, Manchester City paid over £ 350 million in player salaries during the 2022/23 season.
Compared to well-known clubs, membership clubs have a smaller budget, making it difficult to retain top talent and their competitive advantage is not obvious.
“Although the commercialization of football is a very serious phenomenon, I believe that trust funds will play an increasingly important role in the field of English football. Once a club has sufficient financial support and fan support, it can attract top players to join, and its competitive advantage will continue to be highlighted,”Emily said.
In recent years, many British football clubs have been severely affected by commercialization. Against this trend, the UK government has taken a series of measures in 2021 to curb investors’ power and ensure members’ governance over the clubs. For example, the UK government stipulates that club members have the right to decide the club name, logo, or home color, and when managers change business decisions, members can exercise veto power.
Emily said, “Trust companies are currently facing significant challenges, but they still play a crucial role in the development of membership based clubs.” In the future, the UK government will introduce more favorable policies to promote the development of the British football trust model, and its importance will become increasingly prominent.