If the recommendations of the Fan-Led Review are passed into legislation, everyone would have to pass an integrity test before being allowed to own a club. Matt Southall passing an integrity test? Really ?
We understand that not everyone is interested in all the details of the Tracey Crouch MP fan-led review of football governance but you can take it from us that the recommendations she makes are very good news. If they had been in place two years ago, we firmly believe that Southall and his cast of "dubious characters" would never have been able to get their feet under the CAFC table.
In addition, one of Tracey Crouch's recommendations is that anyone who wants to sell a stadium for development must provide an alternative of similar standard. We know someone in Belgium who might not be too thrilled about this.
For these specific reasons and for the overall good of football, we are asking you to spare a few minutes to write to your MP in support of the Fan-Led Review.
The plan is that the report's recommendations will be included in The Queen's Speech in the Spring of 2022 and become legislation by the following year at the latest. There will inevitably be vested interests who will campaign against this. The Times newspaper has already weighed in and the Premier League clubs will be looking after their own best interests.
If you wish, you can read the report in full:
https://thefsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Football-Fan-led-Governance-Review.pdf
Or our summary here:
https://www.castrust.org/2021/11/cast-backs-the-fan-led-review-report/
In any case, please spare a few minutes to contact your MP. It isn't difficult to do this.
Here is how to find out your MP's contact details:
https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons
The Labour Party has already pledged its support but it is still worth contacting your Labour MP. If your MP is a Conservative or other it is particularly important that you contact them. The more letters or emails they receive the more they will realise that this issue matters to a lot of people and will be a vote winner.
Below are some examples of what you might like to write. Feel free to copy and paste from them or to compose your own from scratch. Make sure you include your full name and address. But please don't put it off. It only takes ten minutes and it will without doubt play its part in ensuring that our football clubs are protected from the predatory instincts of the likes of East Street Investments.
If you don't get a reply within two weeks just write again !
1. Letter to a Labour MP (i.e. Matt Pennycook or Clive Efford)
Dear
I am a supporter of Charlton Athletic Football Club. I welcome the findings contained in the fan-led review of football led by Tracey Crouch. I would like to thank you for your support so far and am pleased to see that the Labour Party has stated that it will support the findings in full. In the period 2014-2019 Charlton supporters had an owner in Roland Duchatelet whose actions acted against the interests of supporters. The club, but not the stadium, was sold in 2020 to a company called ESI whose actions very nearly sent the club into administration. Charlton fans contributed to the fan-led review and felt listened to. Having reviewed the recommendations, Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust, is of the view that the measures proposed in the report would offer protection in a situation similar to that we encountered with ESI. In addition, the particular clauses regarding security of tenure and the requirement for developers to build equivalent or better facilities before any development could be started, is particularly helpful to Charlton Athletic because at present the club and our stadium, The Valley, are in different ownership
We note that so far the government has only come out in support of the Independent Regulator and will consider the other recommendations in the new year. No doubt, between now and then, various vested financial interests will lobby against the fan-led proposals. I should be grateful for your continued support for the entirety of the report to point out to ministers cross-party support for the recommendations
As the report states, football is of immense emotional value to football supporters and to British culture, but it is more than that, it sits at the heart of communities up and down the country taking on challenges such as food banks and knife crime. Charlton Athletic is a great example.
Please continue to support the full recommendations.
2. Letter to a Conservative (or other party) MP
Dear
I am a supporter of Charlton Athletic Football Club. I welcome the findings contained in the fan-led review of football led by Tracey Crouch.
In the period 2014-2019 Charlton supporters had an owner in Roland Duchatelet whose actions acted against the interests of supporters. The club, but not the stadium, was sold in 2020 to a company called ESI whose actions very nearly sent the club into administration. Charlton fans contributed to the fan-led review and felt listened to. Having reviewed the recommendations, Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust, is of the view that the measures proposed in the report would offer protection in a situation similar to that we encountered with ESI. In addition, the particular clauses regarding security of tenure and the requirement for developers to build equivalent or better facilities before any development could be started is particularly helpful to Charlton Athletic because at present the club and our stadium, The Valley, are in different ownership
We note that so far the government has only come out in support of the Independent Regulator and will consider the other recommendations in the new year. No doubt, between now and then, various vested interests, in particular the Premier League, will lobby against the fan-led proposals. I would like to stress the importance of the other recommendations in the report. Supporters feel that it is important that football clubs remain ambitious and in my view the report strikes the right balance between allowing owners enough freedom to run the clubs from a commercial point of view whilst helping redress some of the financial imbalance that can put football clubs in jeopardy
As the report states, football is of immense emotional value to football supporters and to British culture, but it is more than that, it sits at the heart of communities up and down the country taking on challenges such as food banks and knife crime. Charlton Athletic is a great example.
Please support the full recommendations.
If your MP is Tracey Crouch
Dear Tracey Crouch
I am a supporter of Charlton Athletic Football Club. I welcome the findings contained in the fan-led review of football led by you. I would like to thank you for your thoroughness and for the findings
In the period 2014-2019 Charlton supporters had an owner in Roland Duchatelet whose actions acted against the interests of supporters. The club, but not the stadium, was sold in 2020 to a company called ESI whose actions very nearly sent the club into administration. Charlton fans contributed to the fan-led review and felt listened to. Having reviewed the recommendations, Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust, is of the view that the measures proposed in the report would offer protection in a situation similar to that we encountered with ESI. In addition, the particular clauses regarding security of tenure and the requirement for developers to build equivalent or better facilities before any development could be started, is particularly helpful to Charlton Athletic because at present the club and our stadium, The Valley, are in different ownership
We note that so far the government has only come out in support of the Independent Regulator and will consider the other recommendations in the new year. No doubt, between now and then, various vested interests, in particular the Premier League, will lobby against the fan-led proposals.
As the report states, football is of immense emotional value to football supporters and to British culture, but it is more than that, it sits at the heart of communities up and down the country taking on challenges such as food banks and knife crime. Charlton Athletic is a great example.
I hope that my letter will help you convince the Secretary of State to support the full recommendations. We note that the opposition has already come out in support. So, there is every opportunity for cross-party consensus on something that has little to do with party politics. To misquote Bill Shankley, it’s much more important than that!
Please don't put this off. We need to keep the pressure on or all the work that has been put into this will be wasted. Thank you.
If you would like to join nearly 3000 Charlton fans as a member of CAST you can do so here:
https://www.castrust.org/join/