Brentford lead Arsenal in the supporter representation league

A lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans wouldn’t touch this story, but I’m casting aside English club rivalry to bring a little more attention to a story about Arsenal, my team’s north London rivals.

Arsenal have launched Arsenal Fanshare, selling portions of shares in the club (their 62,000 shares trade at around £10,000 apiece) to fans. This will obviously increase their influence in matters relating to the club’s governance and future. With the governance and ownership of football clubs around the world very much in the spotlight, this is an interesting development.

But it’s nothing new. The reformed AFC Wimbledon is majority owned by The Dons Trust, a social enterprise formed by the community of supporters of Wimbledon FC. Brentford FC is 60% owned by another social enterprise called Bees United, the club’s supporters’ trust. Over in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona are owned by their supporters, and the German Bundesliga requires that a minimum of 51% of any club must be owned by club members.

Aside from being hugely successful on the pitch, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have built up enormous global fanbases. The supporter involvement has probably helped these clubs in developing a greater sense of loyalty, enhanced their brands and ultimately their businesses. Arsenal’s Fanshare initiative looks like an attempt to derive some of these same benefits. However, when it is compared to these examples, this step looks a little timid if the intention is to achieve the Spanish results. It will be interesting to see the effects of this scheme going forward. Will Arsenal’s future owners be prepared to cede further influence and control in the name of increasing the success of their business?

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