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FCupdate - Your weekly round-up of football news

Welcome to the second edition of FCupdate, our regular weekly round-up of news and views from around the football world that should appeal to fans of a supporter-owned club like FC United.

We hope that FCupdate will give you your weekly fan-owned football hit every Monday. We hope you enjoy the latest edition and do let us know if you see anything that we should be including in future issues.

Tell MPs what you think of how football is run
The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee has launched an inquiry into the governance of professional football clubs and wants to hear from fans about how the sport is run in the UK. The call for evidence has been issued in response to club ownership issues, but also to address broader concerns that fans are being let down by current football regulations. Read more at When Saturday Comes.

Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground threatened after loan deal
Fans have reacted with fury after it was revealed the owners of Wrexham FC and the Crusaders have borrowed cash and put the Racecourse up as security for it. Supporters said it meant if the money borrowed from the Rugby Football League is not paid, the RFL and Super League will own part of their ground. Fans want answers from the club owners. More at The Daily Post.

The Real FA Cup – a fan site that’s worth a look
Back in August 2008 two London-based football fans, disillusioned with football at the top level, visited their local team, Dulwich Hamlet, to watch them play Broxbourne Borough in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup. They were instantly hooked and spent the next few months visiting teams they’d never heard of, in places they’d never been to. As a result they regained their enthusiasm for football and set up a website to celebrate the real joy of the game. The Real FA Cup site is that site and it’s well worth a look. More at The Real FA Cup.

Co-operatives UK welcomes tackling of debt in football
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK (of which FC United is a member), has welcomed the announcement that a Parliamentary Committee is to be set up to focus on debt in football and enhancing supporters’ involvement in decision-making. More at The Co-operative.

Plymouth Argyle - another club in difficulty
A further example of the tangled web of ownership and money in football can be seen by the current plight of Plymouth Argyle, who need to prove they have paid off debts to HM Revenue and Customs by early February or face being wound up. The BBC’s Matt Slater has written an interesting blog about the ongoing events at Plymouth at BBC Sport.

Guardian blog misses the point on fan ownership
Guardian journalist Louise Taylor created a stir last week with an article which suggested that club owners would be better off making tickets cheaper and improving facilities than giving supporters a say in how their clubs are run. Read the article and have your say at The Guardian. You can also read a good response to Taylor’s piece on Twohundredpercent website.

Lawyer quits over FIFA failure to tackle corruption
A leading German lawyer has resigned from Fifa’s ethics commission in protest at the apparent failure of football’s world governing body to tackle alleged corruption in its ranks. The lawyer, Günter Hirsch, said Fifa showed "no real interest" in trying to clean up the organisation. Read more at The Guardian.

Football at the Olympic Stadium? But what do the fans think?
The media have been falling over themselves as speculation mounts about who should take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. All eyes are on the Olympic Park Legacy Company who will make a decision in two weeks time. But what do the fans think? The Football Supporters Federation asked them and you can find out what they said at Football Supporters’ Federation.

Andy Walker


First Posted ~ 14:33 Mon 17 Jan 2011
News ID ~ 3355
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021