England protects the symbols of its clubs

The momentous role played by English fans in aborting the creation of the Super League has boosted their weight as guardians of football traditions.

The latest derivative of those massive street protests against the disruptive project of 12 of the most powerful clubs in Europe has been the introduction of a new regulation by the English Federation (FA) that prevents clubs from all its competitions modify the two most identifying signs for its followers without their approval.

On August 5, the FA issued a circular in which it announced that a rule came into force by which neither the shield nor the colors of the first kit can be changed without the majority consent of the fans.

Under the new rules, if a club wishes to make a substantial change to the crest or historically recognized colors that make up its home jersey, it must carry out a thorough consultation process with its fans.

The club will have to show that the majority of its supporters are in favor of the proposed changes.

The FA suggests that the vote be done through an independent survey of current season ticket holders, community and charitable societies that most English clubs have, and fans who have attended a certain number of matches. at home.

In the event that a club cannot demonstrate that the changes have been accepted by their fans, the FA may order them to revert to earlier models than the one proposed.

It is not the first time that the FA intervenes in the conservation of the historical identity of the clubs.

In 2014, Hull City's then-owner, Egyptian-born businessman Assem Allam, saw his proposal to abolish City in order to add Tigers to the club's name be rejected by the English federation.

Allam was looking for a more commercial

to attract sponsors and even dared to suggest one for Manchester City (Hunters) and predicted that all the big English clubs would end up adapting that type of baptism so typical of the American professional leagues.

In the statement announcing this new regulation, the FA emphasized the rebound that the fans are leading in the government of football.

"The aim is to put fans at the center of the decision-making process in respect of these important football club property matters," the FA note read.

This has complied with the mandate ordered by the Boris Johnson government after what happened with the Super League and the performance of the English fans so that the project did not go ahead.

The former British prime minister ordered a report on the governance of football and the protection of its symbolic aspects.

He urged the FA to legislate under the threat that if it didn't, the government itself would.

Sports Law

The Association of European Leagues has focused on the need to take fans more into account as guardians of the identity values ​​of the clubs and also of the competitions in the face of projects such as the Super League.

“This was already started by Michel Platini in his time as UEFA president.

Faced with pressure from the G-14 \[a group made up of the big European clubs\] to demand more money under the threat of creating a competition, Platini approached the international amateur federations," says Emilio Abejón, president of the Federation of Shareholders and Partners of Spanish Football (FASFE).

This more attentive look at the sensitivities of the fans is spreading little by little.

The power of fans as consumers of an industry that feeds on their spending on season tickets or television subscriptions to follow the competitions has placed them on a level of relevance that they have demanded for a long time.

“Measures like that of the English federation are very successful.

It cannot be that every year subscriptions do not rise or that we spend money on travel and that we are not taken into account.

The League itself and its president Javier Tebas have realized it”, assures Jorge Guerrero, a member of Aficiones Unidas in his capacity as president of the Sporting de Gijón supporters clubs.

“Tebas was the most anti-fan thing you could see and now he has realized how important we are.

We defend promotions and demotions based on sporting merits and pyramid financing in which professional football must be the one that feeds a chain in which all its components are important.

Things are happening, small advances and soon we may see representatives of the fans at UEFA”, Emilio Abejón abounds.

The confirmation that the power of the fans in Spain is also on the rise was recently confirmed by Atlético de Madrid.

The slim chances of Cristiano Ronaldo joining the rojiblanco club were curtailed by the protests of the majority of his fans.

The hiring of the Portuguese would mean a social schism that would put the Atlético leadership in check.

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