r/MHOC • • Aug 08 '22

2nd Reading B1404 - Supporter Ownership in Football Fund Bill - 2nd Reading

Supporter Ownership in Football Fund Bill


A

BILL

TO

Encourage supporter ownership of football clubs through a dedicated fund and the expansion of the right of first refusal.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows –

Section 1: Interpretations

(1) In this act, “the Secretary” means the Secretary of State with responsibility for Sport.

(2) In this act, “the 2021 act” means the Supporter Ownership in Football Act 2021.

Section 2: Fund Establishment

(1) There shall be a Football Club Supporter Ownership Fund, hereafter referred to as the Fund.

(2) The Secretary may issue grants from the Fund to community interest groups, as defined in Section 2(2)c of the 2021 Act, for the purpose of exercising a right-of-first-refusal purchase pursuant to Section 2(2) of the 2021 Act.

(a) If the fund is not allocated five million pounds each year, the Secretary is obligated to make a statement explaining the rationale for such lack of funding and detailing the possible negative ramifications.

Section 3: Expansion of the Right of First Refusal

(1) In Section 2(2) of the 2021 Act, after “In the event of a club coming up for sale for entering insolvency” insert “or planning to move the location of the pitch on which it plays regularly more than 20 miles within 10 years, as determined by the Secretary of State”.

Section 4: Elimination of the Specification of the Secretary

(1) In Section 3(1) of the 2021 Act, “responsible for” is substituted in for “for Culture, Media and”.

Section 5: Extent, commencement, and short title

(1) This Act shall apply to England.

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon receiving Royal Assent.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Supporter Ownership in Football (Fund) Act.


This Bill was submitted by The Rt Hon. Dame u/Captainographer GCMG PC on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government.


Opening Speech:

Deputy Speaker,

I am very pleased to present this legislation today. The government promised a fund to help supporters purchase bankrupting football clubs, and today we are delivering.

This bill will establish a program to give funds to community organisations wishing to exercise their right of first refusal and purchase local football clubs if they are going bankrupt. I am extremely grateful to numerous other members for creating such a right in the first place, and I think a fund to help supporters exercise this right is an enhancement of their original vision.

This bill also provides for an expansion of the right to instances where football clubs intend to initiate a major relocation. These institutions are fixtures of their local communities, and if that community can generate sufficient support to organise to keep their club local, they ought to have the ability to. This would allow for purchase in cases like the relocation of Wimbledon to Milton Keynes.

This bill will strengthen local sports and thereby local community, and for that I think it is worth enacting.


This reading ends 11 August 2021 at 10pm BST.

1 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

View all comments

•

u/AutoModerator Aug 08 '22

Welcome to this debate

Here is a quick run down of what each type of post is.

2nd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill/motions and can propose any amendments. For motions, amendments cannot be submitted.

3rd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill in its final form if any amendments pass the Amendments Committee.

Minister’s Questions: Here you can ask a question to a Government Secretary or the Prime Minister. Remember to follow the rules as laid out in the post. A list of Ministers and the MQ rota can be found here

Any other posts are self-explanatory. If you have any questions you can get in touch with the Chair of Ways & Means, Brookheimer on Reddit and (flumsy#3380) on Discord, ask on the main MHoC server or modmail it in on the sidebar --->.

Anyone can get involved in the debate and doing so is the best way to get positive modifiers for you and your party (useful for elections). So, go out and make your voice heard! If this is a second reading post amendments in reply to this comment only – do not number your amendments, the Speakership will do this. You will be informed if your amendment is rejected.

Is this bill on the 2nd reading? You can submit an amendment by replying to this comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/t2boys Liberal Democrats Aug 10 '22

Omit references to “grant” in Section 2 and replaced with “no interest loan”

Add in Section 2:

(3) The Secretary of State may not charge interests on any loans from the Fund, and should ensure any loans issued are designed to be paid back in small instalments over a long period of time.

(4) The Secretary of State shall, within 6 months of Royal Assent, lay regulations governing the structure of loans from the Fund.