They did it….MyFootballClub buys team
This spring I posted about a very ambitious website called MyFootballClub. The hope of the site was to get 50,000 people to pony up a £35 membership fee, giving them £1,375,000 in seed money to buy a team with every one of the 50,000 members as equal partners having a say on player selection, tactics and club finances…basically all aspects of running a club.
This week, they did it. They didn’t get the 50,000 they hoped for, but they did get 20,000 people and earlier this week announced they have purchased a team called Ebbsfleet United.
Says the Beeb:
The takeover is unprecedented in English football, given the website’s stated intention of involving the members so radically in the running of the club, particularly with team selection.
This move returns the power to the fans. Sure, there are going to be growing pains with 20,000 people having a say int he club, but still this is pretty exciting stuff. And, when you have 20,000 people directly invested in the fortunes of a non-league club, that is a pretty decent fan base for a low level team.
Go Ebbsfleet United!
