Supporter involvement in decision-making
363.Section 100 elaborates on the regulations which may be made under section 99(1)(a) to facilitate supporter involvement in the decision making of a football club. It is largely self-explanatory. However the key aspects are:
The regulations will need to identify the clubs that are to be regulated (paragraph (a)), how the fans of the club are to make it known that they want to be involved in the decisions of the club (paragraph (b)) and the types of decisions involved (paragraph (e)). That might, for example, involve specifying that the provisions apply to clubs in a specific league or which share certain characteristics (e.g. professional clubs). For fans to be involved, they may need to hold season tickets, join a supporter organisation or take some other action. And, for clubs to be able to function efficiently and effectively, it may be appropriate to specify that the involvement of fans is focused on particular decisions (e.g. the relocation of the stadium).
The regulations may require football clubs to provide information to their supporters about how the club is run and how the property of the club is held (paragraph (c)). This may include information on a range of topics from the management structure to who owns particular assets (like the stadium or training grounds).
Paragraph (d) confirms that the regulations can set out the manner in which supporters are to be involved in decision making. There is a range of options available in this regard and different management structures may necessitate different approaches. In that regard, it is also possible that individual clubs may develop different strategies to best reflect their particular circumstances over and above anything that may be set out in the regulations.
Lastly, paragraph (f) confirms that the regulations may provide for the consequences for football clubs it they fail to involve their supporters in decision making in contravention of the regulations.
