Regno Unito, seconda lettura per la proposta di legge per favorire l'ingresso dei Supporters' Trusts nella governance dei club

Seconda lettura Venerdì 4 dicembre presso la House of Commons della proposta di legge, Football Governance (Supporters' Participation) Bill(LINK), presentata da Clive Efford, rappresentante dei Labour, per regolamentare e favorire, in alcuni casi specifici e sotto alcune condizioni, l'ingresso delle associazioni di tifosi/Supporters' Trusts nella governance dei club.
L'aspetto chiave del testo, presentato lo scorso Giugno 2015 per la prima lettura, è la proposta di una regolamentazione specifica per i club di calcio che consenta ad un collettivo di tifosi, formalmente riconosciuto, la facoltà di acquisto(Right to Buy) del 10% delle quote della propria società, qualcosa cambiasse di proprietà, e, tale operazione, attiverebbe diritti speciali di nomina di almeno il 25% dei membri del Consiglio di Amministrazione o comunque almeno due rappresentanti del Supporters' Trust.
La proposta di legge in questione arriva dopo un percorso di consultazione partito nel 2014(qui e qui dettagli) con le principali organizzazioni di tifosi del Regno Unito, Supporters Direct UK e la Football Supporters Federation, attraverso una raccolta di pareri, informazioni ed esperienze dirette culminate con la nascita del gruppo di lavoro The Supporter Ownership and Engagement Expert Group, allestito per esplorare le possibilità e valutare come sia possibile intervenire per favorire un maggiore coinvolgimento dei tifosi nella governance dei club(qui dettagli).
Il ''Right to Buy'' rientra in una delle raccomandazionipresentate lo scorso Marzo 2015 nel 'Manifesto to reform football in England and Wales', documento redatto per presentare le tematiche più rilevanti sollevate dalle associazioni di tifosi e le principali problematiche non ancora risolte nel calcio inglese, realizzato da Supporters Direct UK che collabora e supporta ormai oltre 200 associazioni di tifosi nel Regno Unito.
Il collettivo nazionale inglese, impegnato in questi giorni anche nella presentazione una richiesta al Parlamento di agevolazioni fiscali per i Community Clubs(qui dettagli), ha accolto positivamente la seconda lettura, di seguito il comunicato da supporters-direct.org:
SUPPORTERS DIRECT PRAISES 10-MINUTE RULE BILL ON FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE
Supporters Direct welcomes today’s second reading of Clive Efford MP’s Football Governance (Supporters’ Participation) Bill.
The Bill tabled by the Shadow Sports Minister will give legitimate football fan groups the right to buy up to 10% of the shares on offer when a club changes ownership. It will enable them to elect and remove up to quarter of club boards and allow them a minimum of two seats on the board.
James Mathie said: “We are very supportive of any recommendations to increase supporter involvement in the governance of football clubs, so thank the shadow minister for tabling this bill.
We have seen clubs like Swansea City thrive with supporter-elected directors on their Board, and if protected, supporter shareholdings can provide important rights as well as a platform towards ownership.”
Supporters Direct is a standing member of the Government Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement, which is expected to report early in 2016.
On Monday, December 7th, SD will launch a report in Westminster calling for tax breaks from the Treasury for supporter owned sports clubs, to reward the value they bring to their community and encourage more clubs to follow this path.

MP @CliveEfford ‘Football Governance (Supporters' Participation) Bill’ is listed for Second Reading in HoC tomorrow https://t.co/NWrwPTDl6i— Supporters Direct (@SuppDirect) 3 Dicembre 2015

Anche la Football Supporters Federation ha commentato positivamente l'iniziativa di legge, di seguito l'articolo del protagonista Clive Efford da fsf.org.uk:
It’s time that fans are heard in the boardrooms
A bill designed to increase the say fans have in their clubs will go before Parliament today for its second reading. Here Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford MP tells us about his bill...Football clubs are attached to the communities in which they are based like no other forms of business.
Fans do not choose their clubs after comparing prices or being influenced by clever marketing, it is an emotional attachment that lasts a lifetime.  Fans are the people that remain after club owners have moved on and they remain loyal through good times and bad.
With few exceptions it is the communities around the clubs that provide the bulk of the fans that pack the grounds and make our football so exciting and attractive to watch.  If the grounds were empty the TV companies would not be interested in paying large sums of money to televise games and the money coming into football from TV rights would dry up.

"It’s time that fans are heard in the boardrooms" - @CliveEfford on Football Governance Bill before Commons reading: https://t.co/tgQD6CbfPK— The FSF (@The_FSF) 4 Dicembre 2015

Yet time and time again we see fans being overlooked on issues that directly affect them: naming rights; sponsorship; cost of tickets – particularly for away fans; changing club colours; and costs of merchandise. These are all examples of disputes that have occurred between fans and club directors.  It is time that fans had a voice.
This bill will not give fans a controlling stake, but it will allow them, where they chose to do so, to have a voice in the boardroom and where they have the means, to take a stake in their club.  The fans’ group will be constituted to provide transparency about how funds are managed and the board representatives are held to account.  Fans that are elected to the boards will have to undertake training to ensure that they understand the legal requirements of being a board member.   It’s time to give fans a voice.
Where they chose to do so fans can set up an appropriately constituted group that will have the right to buy up to 10 percent of the shares available for purchase when there is a change of ownership, which is when 30 percent or more of the shares on offer.  The group will also be able to elect and remove two members or up to 25 percent, whichever is the greater, of their club’s board.
It’s time that fans are heard in the boardrooms of football clubs.  Too many decisions are made without fans even being consulted.  My bill will not give fans a controlling share but it will ensure they have a place at the table and will be able to put their views across.