More than 30,000 have Signed Up to Buy a Football Club

By: Bob | June 8th, 2007

We first found out about the My Football Club initiative a couple of months ago. At the time I thought the idea of 50,000 fans pooling their money together to buy a football club in England was a quaint notion, but one that would likely never succeed. It turns out that I could be wrong.

As of this very second, 33,629 people have pledged 35 pounds ($70) to buy a share of a yet-to-be decided team. Even though it is merely a pledge that doesn’t require a payment at this point, it is an impressive number considering this has almost entirely been done through word of mouth on the Internet. According to the site’s creator, Will Brooks, 500 people a day are signing up on average. His goal of having 50,000 on board is well within reach.

I think this all speaks volumes about how many people are disenchanted with the big money sport that football has become. It also speaks to the dreamer in all of us. Who wouldn’t want to be a part owner of a team and to have a say in picking the manager and players? That is one reason why fantasy football is so popular.

So which team do fans want to buy now? Arsenal is still in the top ten, but it is Leeds United that has received the most votes thus far. What an incredible story it would be for Leeds United to play in the Champions League and be owned by a bunch of fans in the same decade.

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Category: England, World Football

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weenie

I think I'm a great dreamer as I was among the first few thousand to sign up and this was when there were still loads of questions being asked about whether the whole thing was a scam or not! I have no doubt that this will go ahead, I just can't wait until we do actually buy our own team. Premier league in 5 years? Maybe not. But to help a struggling small English side move up the ranks will be a major achievement!
gelz85

Thats roughly 35,000,000 dollars. Thats enough for a team like Leeds?
Ian

I signed up for the reasons you mentioned - I think it could set a really interesting precedent for sports ownership, and frankly, the current business model needs some competition. Leeds is an interesting possibility - I don't think it will happen, but its interesting.
Chris

I signed up, if the team is in a lower tier then I have no problem doing it. I wouldn't want to do a team like Leeds due to their history, but a team that had little chance of getting out of the dungeons of English football? I have no problem with that. It would be fun.
Tom

It's pretty interesting. There was a good interview with one of the people behind this on EPLTalk.

I notice my hometown team, Brighton, are fifth in the voting. Whilst the money would be great, I'd be a little concerned about my team becoming the subject of such a radical experiment. Though nothing could be as bad as what our previous owners did anyway.