Government minister asks the right questions about debt, overseas investment and the future of the game

Last week I found myself agreeing with Michel Platini. Now you can imagine how I felt when I did that! Things have now got even worse for me. I agree with a Government minister about football!

The former Football Task Force chairman, Andy Burnham, now the Culture Secretary wants football’s authorities to report back to him within three months over his plans to safeguard football, which he sees as being at great risk in England at the moment.

He said:

“We risk the game losing touch with its traditional fan-base. The time has come for football to reassess its relationship with money and with its supporters.”

It is estimated that the twenty Premier League clubs have a combined debt of £3 billion.

The minister went on:

“Despite the levels of money in the game, football must be a sporting competition run like a business and not vice versa. The game makes money because of the way it began – because of the fierce rivalry between fans and the history of civic pride and local allegiance forged over a century or more. The game is becoming increasingly polarised. The top clubs who build on global success are in danger of becoming detached from the communities that build them. We need to ensure the flow of finance furthers football’s interests as a sport.”

Amongst other things, the minister has called for more consistency in financial regulations, more transparency and scrutiny of club ownership and debt levels.

In the actual game, Burnham wants the promotion of a competitive balance and to re-open the debate regarding a quota of home-grown players.

He added:

“Having strong competition as a primary goal is the way to ensure commercial success. Football clubs do not exist to be pure businesses. They do not exist to put each other out of business. The product is the competition. Football has special characteristics and a fundamental role in our community. It is right to raise these issues and we are open about them because we all want the game to have a strong future. I am inviting the three football authorities to take a co-ordinated and in-depth look at the questions I have laid out, and to respond with their thoughts in the new year.”

Let’s keep this man involved. He seems to be talking a lot of sense.