Good for football, good for business

Submitted by Kathryn Busby on 6 April 2010

Our letter to the Guardian, printed on Friday:

We welcome the government's plans, apparently to be included in Labour's manifesto for the general election, to give football fans first option to buy their clubs when they are put up for sale, and to require clubs to hand over a stake of up to 25% to supporters' groups, in recognition of their links to local communities. These plans could easily be replicated beyond the beautiful game and signal a significant and popular transition within the wider economy to a more equitable, sustainable and co-operative business model. Why not require all businesses to hand over 25% of shares to employees, in recognition of connections to their local community? Why not give employees of all companies first chance at ownership in a buyout?

There are obvious parallels between football and the financial sector. Both have seen grossly excessive rewards at the top and relative poverty at the bottom. Both have become hugely indebted and extremely unstable, with some banks and some clubs unable to survive. It does not have to be this way. With popular and political will we can create better business models for our society. Government-proposed changes to the regulation of the beautiful game need to be replicated across society, so that all of our institutions start to work for the greater good.

Bill Kerry, Kathryn Busby, Kate Pickett, Richard Wilkinson

Directors, The Equality Trust