It was all over the front pages four years ago, when the chairman put it into administration but not much has been heard since. The thing is, even the fans aren’t sure who owns Leeds United football club. The club was in debt to the tune of £35m when Ken Bates and his fellow directors put the club into the hands of the administrators.
The question of its ownership has even made it’s way to the House of Commons, where the Select Committee on Culture Media and Sport has repeatedly asked who is the owner. The committee clearly think it’s a cause for concern that the clubs supporters. Who shell out their hard-earned cash; don’t know who their money is going to.
The C.E of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore, yesterday told the enquiry that if the team managed by Simon Grayson were to be promoted to the top flight, their rules need better disclosure as to the actual ownership than there is at present.
The Football League asked Leeds only last year to reveal who actually owned it. Bates, who is now living in Monaco, says that he hasn’t any connection with the owners, they have merely entrusted the day to day running of the club to him. The League rules at the time didn’t require its clubs to openly announce who owned them, so left it at that.
The League however, has since taken on the same rules as the Premiership. Leeds has since announced on their website that the club is owned via 3 trusts, which are administrated via Zurich, and no individual owns over 10%. As this is the case, they say they don’t have to name any of the individuals involved.
Sleeping football giant, Leeds United Football Club, may be at the centre of a storm, after it was revealed that no-one seems to know the identities of the people who actually own the club. A similar affliction recently affected Notts County Football Club. Leeds are currently in the Championship, although they sank as low as League 1, having previously been a UEFA Champions League semi-finalist in 2001. They imploded after running into financial difficulties.