
We believe a football club is a sporting institution. And that the business side of the club should support that. Over the last few weeks, we have seen fans are prepared to act to defend the values of open competition and meritocracy; to preserve the ability to dream without limits. We must ensure those values are safeguarded so that Tottenham Hotspur Football Club thrives as a sporting institution, achieving glory through sporting success.
We are not alone. Across football and right up to government level, people are realising action must be taken to preserve our sport and ensure our clubs are not just another investment.
Our six-point plan puts fans and football back at the heart of Tottenham Hotspur. We’re asking each and every Tottenham Hotspur fan to #StandUpForSpurs by calling on the owners of THFC to:
- Create a new Club Board that includes independent directors who protect and promote the interests of THFC as a football club.
- Establish a supervisory committee elected by and accountable to supporters that must sign off key non-footballing decisions.
- Work with the government’s fan-led review to rebalance the current ownership structure in favour of supporters.
- Commit to the owners directly paying any costs or fines connected with the ESL.
- Support the creation of a share ownership structure that broadens ownership of the Club and could potentially provide an injection of cash.
- Protect our Club from sanctions and rebuild trust by taking responsibility at Board level for damaging decisions.
Of course, there needs to be change across the game, not just at one club. That’s why we will be working over the coming weeks to put forward a fully-rounded set of proposals for reform to the Government’s fan-led review. Submissions are due in July with the final report due for publication in October. Those proposals will address the drawbacks of conducting fan-club relationships without any firm regulatory framework, and suggest solutions that could work at Club and wider game level.
We are asking Trust members with specific experience of governance and corporate law to assist us by emailing info@thstofficial.com, and we will use what advice we can alongside the knowledge and policy built up by THST Board members and staff at the Football Supporters’ Association. We are also speaking to Tracey Crouch MP, who is chairing the review, the DCMS, the shadow DCMS team, and the Premier League. And we are willing to discuss implementing proposals that could go further than any review with THFC.
We will seek the support of our membership before any agreement is reached on the shape of governance reform at THFC, while ensuring we make a full and proper contribution to the review process.
You can help put fans and football back at the heart of our Club by:
- Supporting the call to #StandUpForSpurs in as many ways as possible
- Emailing Daniel.Levy@TottenhamHotspur.com expressing support for our plan
- Writing to your MP backing the wider reform of football
- Following @THSTOfficial on Twitter and Facebook for regular campaign updates
- Joining the Trust to strengthen our voice at www.THSTOfficial.com/membership
THST Board
31 May 2021