Rocky the King
In 2011 in a select committee room of the Houses of Parliament, a group of MPs sitting on the Culture, Media and Sport committee delivered a damning assessment of the Football Association. It was described as ‘Not fit for purpose’ and recommended radical reforms in its composition, method of funding and governance. The FA was warned that if it did not put it’s house in order then the committee would ask the Government to step in and if necessary legislate the appropriate laws and regulations, to justify the millions it receives from the public purse. The FA stood accused of a myriad of dubious practices that encouraged football clubs to take unacceptable levels of financial risk that eventually lead to clubs going into administration. The financial running of Leeds United had been the catalyst for the investigation, as the club, fans and ordinary employees suffered from the consequences of its insolvency.
In 2016 the FA organisation was criticised by its President Prince William 10 years after his appointment. He noted that the FA’s Governance structure was in danger of ‘falling short of modern standards of best practice’. He went on to say that, ‘There is a wind of change blowing through global sporting governance and we need to ensure that we do not get left behind; there is an opportunity to seize the initiative by the way in which we reform ourselves’. Greg Dyke, then the chairman of the FA for three years, decided not to seek re-election after it was widely accepted that he would continue his work to encourage the FA to implement far reaching changes in its composition and governance structures. This ‘volte face’ suggested that his attempts to drag the FA into the 21st century had failed.
Fast forward to the 18th October 2017 where again in a committee room of Parliament, almost in déjà vu fashion MPs and the public gasped at the statements made by the leader of the FA. Chairman Greg Clarke referred to accusations of institutional racism as ‘fluff’ and Chief Executive Martin Glenn stood accused of behaviour ‘bordering upon blackmail’ by former England Women’s international Eniola Aluko, as part of the £80,000 financial settlement had been withheld - allegedly pending the provision of a statement defending the organisation from accusations of institutional racism. The repercussions that flow from this Parliamentary enquiry into allegations of racism against black female player Aluko may result in the conduct of the leaders of the FA being called into question. The wagons were circled in siege mode as Greg Clarke condoned not only the behaviour of his organisation but stated that under his stewardship, alongside Chief Executive Martin Glenn, that ‘after historical systemic failings, the FA was now better than it used to be’. It remains to be seen if the pair can survive as the dust settles from this seismic event.
Simple scrutiny of the evidence presented should leave people and football fans in no doubt that something stinks at the heart of the FA. Indeed it can be argued that without a thorough overhaul, it will continue to offend the decency and moral values of ordinary people who see its abject failure in its duty of care towards the many victims as evidence to support these calls for major action. The composition of the council appears as detached from the modern day as Rip Van Winkle. The supposed new governance principles underpinning the reformed organisation are notable by their absence, but will it learn from these mistakes? Already Greg Clarke, under the cover of Parliamentary Privilege, has made awful accusations against the PFA which would have attracted firm legal action had they been made in public. Clearly the leaders of the FA are in denial and in the coming days and weeks the retribution will be delivered by those outside of the FA as the current incumbents are quite incapable of being objective.
On the 26th October, Arsenal Football Club will hold it’s annual Annual General Meeting. We all know the makeup of the Board and in previous months the Arsenal Supporters Trust has made its observations and concerns known about the lack of youth and diversity currently at the club. The answer was to bring on Josh Kroenke, a gesture by the Board that clearly indicated its continuing contempt towards its fan base. Whilst it would take a major leap of imagination and probably be judged as unfair to draw parallels between the events at the FA and the current unaccountability of the board of directors at Arsenal Football Club, nonetheless one cannot help but see a connection between failings in common when Boards of Governance are composed mainly of elderly white gentlemen. They appear to be insensitive and disconnected from mainstream values of you or I. The AGM has become a stage-managed farce with totalitarian overtones which make the credentials of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un perfect for his appointment onto the Board of Arsenal Football Club. Whatever happens at the AGM one can continue to argue that despite the long running criticism that has followed this beleaguered Board, it has delivered during it’s running of the club only adverse headlines, poor marketing and major divisions within the fan base. It too, put simply, is also not fit for purpose.
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