FC - Football becomes big business

Reform

Government Action

1997 saw the country elect a new Labour government who recognised that commercialism was damaging football. It set-up a task force to enquire into various issues affecting the game formed by supporters, governing bodies, public figures and informed academics. This mix sometimes meant it was hard to achieve consensus, especially with members of the Premier League. The task force produced four reports:

Eliminating Racism from Football - March 30th 1998

This lead to racist chanting being made criminal offence.

Improving facilities for Disabled Supporters - July 29th 1998

Disabled facilities are now compulsory at all grant-aided ground developments

Investing in Community - January 11th 1999

Two bodies were formed:

• Supporters Direct - A government backed initiative set up with £750,000 budget that would encourage supporters to buy and hold football clubs shares mutually.
• Football Foundation - A body to administer spending of 5% of the Premier Leagues TV revenue (£80m over 3 years) matched by lottery grants, to spend on grass roots football facilities.

Commercial Issues - December 22nd 1999

This area of enquiry lead to little agreement between various parties and two separate reports were produced, the majority report favouring an audit commission and ombudsman. Footballs governing bodies unsurprisingly preferred a system of self-regulation. The government facing pressure from the Premier League supported this report which led to the creation of the Independent Football Commission (IFC). This body would oversee the running of football in commercial areas such as ticket prices and merchandising, but only with the power to 'name and shame' bad practice.

Football Foundation

The Football Foundation was formed in 2000 by the Government, replaced The Football Trust. It has a 53m investment programme with money sourced from The F.A. Premier League, The F.A., Sport England and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The foundation - the UK's biggest sporting charity - is based at F.A. Headquarters in London. It aims to deliver:

• a new generation of modern facilities in parks, local leagues and schools throughout the country
• capital and revenue supporting the running of grass roots football
• strengthening the links between football and the community to harness its potential for a force for good in society
• REFF - Register of English Football Facilities. Database of all football facilities, their state of repair and demand

Two recent examples of how the foundation has helped make a difference are in Colchester and Burnley. The Colchester United Football in the Community Scheme was given a £11,537 grant to fund to mobile floodlights to provide evening coaching schemes for local young people. This radical project uses the mobile floodlights to take football to local housing estates, and help provide professional coaching opportunities for children. Meanwhile, Burnley Borough Council received a £150,000 grant to fund pitch drainage and construct modern changing facilities at the Prairie Playing fields in the town. The council hopes these improvements will boost participation rates, especially amongst under represented groups.

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