Andy Burnham eyes expanding support for fan-owned sports clubs

Andy Burnham wants to expand support for fan-owned sports clubs, reviving a policy he helped pioneer under New Labour.

At his first meeting with Co-operative Labour MPs, the prime minister pointed to the Supporters Direct organisation he chaired early in his career and said the government should "look to work on it again", sources who were present told Sky News.

Supporters Direct helped set up more than 200 supporters trusts for football clubs, giving fans a voice and financial stake in how they operate. The movement saved many clubs from ruin with around 50 football clubs now fully or partially fan-owned, including EFL clubs AFC Wimbledon and Exeter.

Under fan-owned models, financial surplus is traditionally reinvested back into the club rather than paid out as dividends to outside shareholders.

No clubs operate this way in the Premier League but it has been praised as a solution to stop exploitation lower down in the game.

One MP present at the meeting said fan-owned sport was "definitely a personal passion" of the prime minister, although they conceded the "list of pressing issues is a long one".

Another said: "I think it is a passion and he saw the value around Supporters Direct. Definitely an appetite for change from the PM and MPs."

Mr Burnham, a life-long Evertonian, supported the inception of Supporters Direct when working as a special adviser in Tony Blair's government and chaired the body between 2001 and 2005 after being elected as the MP for Leigh.

In a book about the commercialisation of football published in 2001, he wrote: "I have always believed that football clubs belong more to their supporters than their shareholders. Some people have bits of paper to say they own a club's assets - stadium, training ground, brand - but the heart and soul of every club is the property of its fans."

He has used similar language in response to the row over the World Cup sell-off plan.

While it's not clear how the prime minister might take fan ownership forward formally, he is understood to have taken an interest in a recent report by the Co-operative Party, which proposed creating a "Supporters Direct 2.0".

The initial body was amalgamated with other organisations in 2018 to create the Football Supporters' Association, which advocates for football supporters in England and Wales. However, the Co-op report says that while there have been strides to strengthen the voice of fans, such as the Independent Football Regulator, an explicit focus on ownership has been lost.

Their report proposed a new agency that would provide support for fan ownership beyond football, highlighting increasing financial instability afflicting Rugby Union, Rugby League and cricket.

Cricket clubs have traditionally operated as member owned, but a number of high-profile clubs are exploring breaking away from that model.

Sceptics of fan-owned structures argue that while they can protect community roots and keep prices down, they can often struggle to compete with billionaire-owned clubs and attract financing.

One Labour source said they were "unsure fan ownership is feasible at the top level".

It is understood there is not active DCMS work to expand fan-and community owned sports clubs.

Grassroots clubs

The Co-operative's report also said the new agency could help communities take over grass roots local sports clubs to save them from closing down due to financial pressures.

It pointed to the recently passed Community Right to Buy, which gives community groups a first right of refusal when eligible assets become available to buy, including sports clubs.

The report suggested funding the agency through a partnership between government and professional sport, similar to the initial Supporters Direct.

The Co-operative Party is a sister party to the Labour Party and advocates for businesses owned by local customers and staff. Around 40 Labour MPs are dual members, including Mr Burnham, making him the UK's first Co-operative prime minister.

The party is led by Joe Fortune, a close ally of the PM's who is tipped to be in the running to be Labour's next general secretary. If confirmed, that could indicate a greater push toward co-operative models of ownership. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is also a Co-op MP.

Caitlin Prowle, assistant general secretary of the Co-operative Party said clubs "across sport are facing financial precocity".

She told Sky News: "We need to think seriously about who owns our sporting assets and who gets a say in their future.

"Andy Burnham was a driving force in shifting sports ownership during the last Labour government and now he has the opportunity to do it again, with a renewed focus on co-operative ownership that puts fans and communities in control."

A DCMS spokesperson said: "This government is firmly on the side of fans. We set up the independent football regulator to put supporters back at the heart of our national game and it is now written in law that they must have a say in major decisions at their clubs."

(c) Sky News 2026: Andy Burnham eyes expanding support for fan-owned sports clubs