Article Taxonomy: Football Governance

Getting round the rules

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One can devise rules to restrict external investment in football clubs, but it is also possible to find ways of getting round them.   That is what the German Bundesliga has found.

RB Leipzig are currently second in the top German league.   They are sponsored by Red Bull, the energy drinks manufacturer, and play at the Red Bull Arena.   They are affiliated to New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian champions, both of whom play at grounds called the Red Bull Arena.

Five shady practices common in football

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The Financial Times has identified five shady practices which it claims are common in English football.  It says that football’s short termism, where players’ careers are short and vulnerable to serious injury and where managers know they can be fired at any moment, may create the conditions for corruption.

Dual representation refers to a situation where an agent acts for both the player and the buying or selling club.   This conflict of interest is not against FA rules.   It means that the player does not have to pay the agent out of his own pocket.

Agents call for return of regulation

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Football agents have called for the return of regulation of their activities.   This may sound like turkeys voting for an early Christmas, but they fear further damage to their already poor reputation.

The Association of Football Agents says that deregulation has created a system ‘open to manipulation and abuse’, calling for the Football Association to introduce a stricter licensing regime.  

What can be done about rogue owners?

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The problem of rogue owners at clubs like Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Charlton Athletic and Leeds United persists.   There is no easy solution, although some ideas have been put forward and are discussed below.

During the past week a lot of the focus has been on Blackburn Rovers where there was a well-attended meeting called by two fan groups last Thursday.   In November 2010, when the Indian conglomerate Venky’s, took over Blackburn were a stable, well-run Premier League club that had won the title under Jack Walker’s benevolent ownership in 1995.

Worse than paint drying?

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Never mind the paint drying trophy!  The successor to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, the Checkatrade Trophy, gets under way tonight.  

Cautions and sending-offs are exclusive to the tournament and in normal circumstances won’t affect other EFL or Premier League fixtures.  The EFL clubs will field a minimum of five ‘First Team’ players in the starting 11 as defined under the competition’s existing rules, whilst the invited clubs will have at least six under-21 players in their starting line-up.