Fan-led Review - email your MP
We have been working on the Government’s Fan-Led Review of Football Governance since it was first announced in April 2021. You can read about our involvment and our presentation to Tracey Crouch as part of the review process on the Fan-led Review section on our website.
The Fan-led Review of Football Governance proposed ideas which could radically transform our game for the better – and we want West Ham supporters across England and Wales to do their bit and ensure that the Government implements those recommendations.
Football club chief executives have already started their own lobbying operation to oppose the report and we, as supporters, must counteract that by contacting our elected officials and letting them know that football fans are right behind the Fan-led Review. This includes the establishment of a truly Independent Regulator for English Football and not something that is administered by the Football Association (FA).
How can I help?
We want individual fans to contact their own MP and ask them to show their support for the report by writing to Nadine Dorries, the secretary of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). We believe most MPs will support the review’s proposals but we want to ensure the Government hears from elected representatives from across the country.
You can find out who your MP is and their email address here:
members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
or alternatively you can find out who your MP is and email them directly from the link at the bottom of this page. MP’s will only consider correspondance from their own constituents, so make sure you include your name and address in your email.
MPs are more likely to engage with personally written emails from their constituents, as opposed to template letters or auto-generated email platforms, which typically get weeded out and are not conidered. So we would encourage supporters to craft their own email. However, we have provided some guidance which you can use and/or rewrite into your own style.
How should I introduce my email?
Be polite. Say who you are and where you live. Describe your (and family) association with West Ham. If you live in a constituency that’s in the typical West Ham catchment area (East London, Essex) then also mention the role that the Club plays in the community.
Ask your MP to write to Nadine Dorries, the secretary of state for the DCMS, and call for the Government to back all the recommendations in the Fan-led Review of Football Governance.
Point out that Football has had many opportunities to self-regulate and has not taken them. The Government’s Fan-led Review manifesto commitment was welcome and now it should deliver up on all of the recommendations of the report (you might wish to include them, see below).
What are the recommendations?
There’s a lot more information in the Fan-led Review section of our website, but here is a summary:
Governance: an independent regulator for football (IREF) which has the necessary investigative and enforcement powers needed to prevent the recurrence of such developments as the European Super League.
Finance: football’s model is unsustainable with too many clubs making losses. Pre-emptive action is needed and a regulator will impose stronger financial controls.
Engagement: proposals to embed democratic supporter organisations and engagement within the heart of domestic football.
Heritage: football stadiums, club badges, location, colours and competitions all deserve special protections. Fans to have a veto on these assets at every club via a “golden share” which is held by a democratic, legally-constituted fan group.
Reform: half of the FA Board should be made up of independent non-executive directors, to reduce elite club influence. The review also recommends reform of the FA Council.
Distribution: the removal of restrictions on FA spending meaning more money redirected towards grassroots, non-league and women’s football.
Equality: Equality, diversity and inclusion plans should be mandatory for all clubs.
Women’s game: a recommendation that a new review is set up to specifically explore the challenges facing the women’s game. Those challenges may or may not require a different approach to the men’s game but they must be examined thoroughly and independently.
Signing off
Thank your MP and encourage them to read Tracey Crouch’s Fan-led Review of Football Governance which can be downloaded from the DCMS website.
Using the link below will open a new browser tab on the WriteToThem website where you can enter the content of your email.
This is only applicable for those supporters that live in England and Wales, however if you live elsewhere then encourage any friends and relatives that do live here to write to their MPs.