We take a look at the best and worst run Premier League, EFL, National League clubs revealed by Fair Game for 2024. In this section, it’s those in the National League / North /South teams of the 2023/24 season. Check them out below…
Spurs has been named as the best-managed football club in England, according to the Fair Game Index, which represents the most thorough evaluation of men’s professional football ever conducted.
Four other Premier League clubs join Tottenham int the top 10, with Manchester United coming second.
Then we have five clubs from the EFL included, with Cambridge United from League One achieving the third overall position and being recognised as the top club within the Football League.
While Premier League teams generally fared well in the Index, no English club was able to surpass Celtic, which was ranked as the top club overall.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
The Index says: “Clubs that have good governance are predominately either PLCs (and therefore have a legal requirement to be so) – Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic for example – or have significant fan presence on their boards. In short, the frameworks are already in place for good governance so clubs
should have nothing to be scared of.
“Top three north of the border were Heart of Midlothian, winners Celtic and Rangers. In England, Norwich City topped the table, followed by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Celtic again are the best governed club overall, followed by Norwich and Hearts.”
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
“On financial sustainability, five of the top 10 are Fair Game clubs (Carlisle United, AFC Wimbledon, Tonbridge Angels, Chester City and Cambridge United). All of them are under increasing pressure to abandon their principles. To resolve this football’s financial flow needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Clubs that publish full accounts also score better – strengthening the argument for the regulator to call for full disclosure. In Scotland, as a nod to how the game is better run north of the border, the top 10 are all from the Scottish Premier League.
“Overall winners in Scotland are Celtic, followed by Kilmarnock and St Mirren. The winners in England were York City, followed by Bolton Wanderers and Cambridge United.”
EQUALITY AND ETHICAL STANDARDS
“On equality and ethical standards, the scores across the board were very disappointing. This adds weight to the argument that change needs to happen and that that should be included in the remit of a regulator. In England, only 16 of the top 164 clubs managed to get over 50% in this category. Clubs from diverse or liberal areas score highest, notably Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal and winners Brighton & Hove Albion. Equality standards scores in Scotland are however even worse than in England, with only Celtic scoring above half marks.
FAN & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
“On fan and community engagement, fan-owned clubs, unsurprisingly, dominated the top positions, with seven
of the top 12 being fan-owned – AFC Wimbledon, Tonbridge Angels, Scarborough Athletic, Exeter City, Chester City, and Bath City. The seven all out-scored every Premier League side.
“Blackpool also saw notable improvement as they have emerged from the Oyston years. It is a similar story in Scotland – seven of the top 10 are fan-owned. Topping the charts there are Hibernian, Stenhousemuir and Clyde. Hibernian and Stenhousemuir share top spot with a score of 8.3 out of 10.
“Top in England and top overall are AFC Wimbledon.”
The 2024 Fair Game Index explained:
After analysing over 80 publicly-available data points in the 2023 Fair Game Index, this year experts at Fair Game looked at 226 touchpoints across the four pillars, calling for clubs at all levels to strive for best practice in their operations
Each club is then scored out of 100, with 40 points coming from financial sustainability metrics, 30 coming from governance measures, 20 for equality standards, and 10 for fan engagement. This score provides a comprehensive measure of how well-run a club is, with a detailed report outlining the winners and losers in each division.
The 2024 Index looks at the top seven divisions in the English men’s football pyramid and the top four in Scotland – a total of 206 clubs. The clubs have then measured against 226 different touchpoints spread across four different strands: Financial Sustainability, Good Governance, Equality and Ethical Standards, and Fan & Community Engagement.
Fair Game’s strength is based on extensive research. In each of the four strands, we have worked closely with clubs, supporters’ groups, leading academics and industry experts to analyse the issues and identify measurable and meaningful touchpoints. In some cases, this has already led to published research notably on Owners and Directors Test, Environmental Sustainability, Good Governance, Gender Inequality, and football’s failed financial flow.
So what is included in the strands?
Financial Sustainability includes 38 touchpoints and includes measures such as accounting, debt, ticket pricing and sponsorship.
Good Governance draws on 55 different metrics and covers areas such as board structure, accountability and transparency.
Equality and Ethical Standards has the most touchpoints – 106 – and covers a very broad range of topics from ethics to sexism, and from environmental impact to racism.
Fan and Community Engagement has 30 touchpoints, including fan representation and community investment.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login