FC Barcelona ownership model – blueprint for UK clubs published by Co-opeatives UK and Supporters Direct

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FC Barcelona ownership model - blueprint for UK clubs published by Co-opeatives UK and Supporters Direct A new report, published today, suggests that the way to improve English football following the dismal England World Cup performance is to follow the approach of leading Spanish clubs and hand them over to their fans.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two leading teams in Spanish football, are co-operatives owned by 175,000 members. Of the 11 players who started out on the field for the winning World Cup team, 10 of them work for one of these two co-operatives.

A recent survey by Co-operatives UK and included in the report, 56% of respondents across the UK see the benefits of this approach, believing their club would be in better hands if it was owned co-operatively by the fans.

The report is published alongside the first English translation of the statutes of Spanish club FC Barcelona, the poster child of co-operative football.

Dave Boyle, Chief Executive of Supporters Direct and the author of the report, commented “FC Barcelona is a powerful example of how a club can be organised co-operatively and still successfully compete with rivals across the world. The club has long been known for being owned by its fans but, until now, we couldn’t see how things worked ‘under the hood’. Fans looking at what rights and powers they have in the club can only look on with envy.  Of course, co-operative football clubs are like all clubs – they are not immune from financial troubles during times of economic austerity. But it’s the ownership structure that really sets them apart.”

“There are a growing number of supporters’ trusts in the UK looking to give fans a greater say and stake in their clubs; our aim is to show how the co-operative model can run effectively and to the benefit of all involved.”

The new report, ‘Barca – fan ownership and the future of football clubs’, and the full FC Barcelona statutes are available on line at www.uk.coop/barca.

Sir Alex Ferguson says US football is taking off

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Sir Alex Ferguson says US football is taking off Sir Alex Ferguson believes that football is starting to get popular in the United States with the Manchester United manager expecting a competitive edge on their upcoming matches as they leave Monday for their Chicago training base.

The US was able to hold England to a World Cup draw and Ferguson is convinced that the Major League Soccer standard is better than ever.

Ferguson stated that American soccer is starting to make an impact and that he had commented before the World Cup that the US team were going to play like the athletes that top football players in England are.

He continued to say that this is also the way that American football players are, athletic and fit with a good feel for the pitch.  Ferguson explained that he can see the improvement throughout the MLS and has spoken to many people over the last few months about this fact and seen an upsurge in the excitement around it.

Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar, and Dimitar Berbatov will be travelling to the United States along with many youngsters which include Fulham’s former defender Chris Smalling.

Ferguson added that winning is the challenge in front of the team but at the same time the idea is to get everyone a chance to play so that when they come back they are prepared for the season.

United will play against Philadelphia Union on July 21st at the Lincoln Financial Field followed by a match in four days at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Wizards.  They will finish out their United States tour in Houston playing the MLS All-Stars on July 28th.

Facebook rumoured to be new England sponsor

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Facebook rumoured to be new England sponsor Facebook has denied rumours that it is talking to the Football Association about taking over the England team as its major sponsor. The landmark social networking website is one of four companies reportedly looking for the available contract as the English football body is hoping to find a replacement for Nationwide, which it lost, valued at £20m.

The building society will discontinue its sponsorship at the close of July, after withdrawing the effort that they made to the Football Association prior to the World Cup.  Santander the banking group and telecommunication giants Orange and O2 all made the shortlist.

Facebook however had continued to deny that they have considered the sponsorship or met with the FA stating that any rumours are ‘bizarre.’  In an official statement they said that they are not speaking to the FA, and that they are not sure where the rumours started, but it’s not true.

The statement also acknowledged that they do work with many brands and the FA has made use of the Facebook platform thus they have spoken to them about these matters but in no way different than any other brand.

Facebook is just one of many blue-chip companies that have spoken out against rumours that they may become the new sponsor of the England team.

Wrapped Up: World Cup 2010 | 4: The Semi Finals

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Ben Shires and the Wrapped Up team are back to wrap up the round in which four teams became two – the 2010 FIFA World Cup semi finals. There’s a trippy recreation of the Van Bronckhorst goal with commentary from a couple of Dutch stoners, PLUS we see why nobody would refuse an offer from Fabio Capello…