Let’s fix football for good – and never fuel potential for breakaway leagues again
“Unlike the ESL, Fair Game isn’t a breakaway. But it can be a breakthrough for English football”
John Scales | Former Liverpool, Tottenham, Wimbledon and Ipswich defender
Football is of course, first and foremost the ownership of the fans and the communities that the game represents. But as an ex-Premier League footballer, don’t try and tell me that players don’t care about our Beautiful Game and the hands in which it is held.
During my career, I was privileged enough to play over 300 times in the top division. I adored so many things about playing. Being able to play the game I loved week in week out and get paid for it was great, of course. But so was the camaraderie with my teammates. The ability to help younger players coming through the ranks. The hairs standing up on the back of my neck when running out at iconic venues, such as Old Trafford or Highbury; or as a home player at Anfield and White Hart Lane.
The game wasn’t perfect in the 90s and I’m not the nostalgic type anyway. But of the four Premier League sides I played for, two have shamefully been linked with the European Super League experiment, happily a pipe dream at least for the time being.
Another, Ipswich, has had its own fall from grace and seen protests against (now former) owner Marcus Evans. The club currently occupies a league position unknown to it since the early 1950s. A fourth side, Wimbledon, no longer even exists, though its incarnate is happily thriving back at Plough Lane.
That’s just four examples. In every case, fans have protested against owners who often have appeared oblivious to their concerns. There’s countless others.
Football cannot continue like it is. The principles behind Fair Game are sound, and more importantly are sustainable for the next generation of football owners, fans, and even us players.
Unlike the ESL, Fair Game isn’t a breakaway. But it can be a breakthrough for English football. One that would enable our clubs to flourish up and down the pyramid, both within the leagues they play in and in the communities they serve.
By looking at issues that have punctured the game for so long – payments to agents, parachute payments, financial irregularities among them – Fair Game has the potential to introduce solutions that will make football fairer, more integral to communities, and I daresay perhaps more enjoyable with less wrangling between decision makers, and indeed the fans.
Several EFL clubs have already expressed their support for our proposals and initiatives. I sincerely hope many others join over the coming weeks. We love representing our clubs and we know the tremendous impact they can make in the lives not only of fans but also entire communities. We know that by putting to bed some of the recent issues that have plagued the game, more players can wear their team badges with pride.