Putting values that matter at the centre of our national game

The football season just gone does not rank as one of the most exciting or successful for British clubs. The Premiership battle was less closely contested than in recent years, and our top teams were eclipsed in Europe by Germany’s success. But for those of us who want to put the ‘people’ back into The People’s Game, it was a season to cherish. Not just for the reminder by Bayern and Dortmund that fan-owned football can conquer the heights, but for the breakthrough of understanding in our own domestic game. The role of the supporter, in the boardroom as well as on the terrace, and in rugby as well as football, is increasingly understood as central to a team’s success, even at the highest levels of the game.

Premier League Swansea City, 20% owned by its supporters and rooted in its South Wales community, won the League Cup at Wembley and so will ply its trade in the Europa League next season. The club even turned in a profit in a Premier League not noted for it. That success is, first and foremost, down to the players and the management, of course, but the fans, with their special sense of ownership, pride and passion, undoubtedly play a vital role in Swansea’s great achievements.

Even more remarkable, perhaps, were the developments at Portsmouth FC, where that proud club is finally in the hands of its fans, with the Pompey Supporters Trust having taken control at the end of last season. This should ensure a more stable future under the stewardship of its supporters and with the support of its community. We now have four supporter-owned clubs in the Football League: Wycombe, AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City and Portsmouth, and growing supporter influence and ownership in the Conference Premier.

These achievements need to be celebrated, rightly, but on their own these will remain relatively isolated pieces of good news. They are bright spots in a game still darkened by poor financial practice that has seen nearly 100 insolvencies in the top five divisions of football since the creation of the Premier League in 1992; clubs where the owners are still not known by the fans and communities that sustain them; a governing body that is still not empowered to make decisions in the wider interests of the game. And all this in a game where the top of the pyramid – its Premier League peak – still makes annual losses counted in the hundreds of millions, even though it has recently signed a record £5bn TV deal.

It is with this in mind that the Labour Party Policy Review and Supporters’ Direct will come together this afternoon to discuss the future of football and the development of a “One Nation” football policy. Supporters’ Direct Chief Executive David Lampitt, Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford MP, Guardian journalist David Conn and Alison McGovern MP will discuss what a “One Nation” football policy would look like under the title ‘football without fans is nothing’.

The event takes place on this afternoon from 4.30pm-6pm in committee Room 9 of the House of Commons and it represents a chance for Labour members and football supporters to work together for a Labour Football Policy that builds on the achievements of the previous Labour Government by giving supporters a genuine chance to take an ownership stake in their football club.

The 2015 election represents an opportunity for Labour to stake out the ground for a set of progressive policies that put values that matter at the centre of our national game. We hope you can join us.

Owen Smith MP is the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and an evangelist for fan-ownership in sport