Everton and Liverpool have been urged to back reform to football governance by 10 Labour MPs ahead of the reveal of the Government's own plan for the future of the national game.
In a letter to the ECHO, signed by Liverpool MPs Kim Johnson (Riverside), Dan Carden (Walton), Paula Barker (Wavertree), and Ian Byrne (West Derby), as well as Merseyside MPs Marie Rimmer (St Helens South), Conor McGinn (St Helens North), Bill Esterson (Sefton Central), Peter Dowd (Bootle), Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) and Derek Twigg (Halton), the group have called on the city's two major football clubs to come together and support the football's reform and back the independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance.
The Review champions financial sustainability, good governance, fan engagement and equality standards and arrived on the back of the collapse of football clubs such as Bury, the financial impact of COVID-19 on football and the failed bid to create a European Super League, of which Liverpool were a part until they renounced their intentions to join and afforded supporters group Spirit of Shankly and other fan groups the chance to form a Supporters Board that held the power of consent over any such plan in the future.
The letter was organised by Fair Game, a group of 33 football clubs campaigning to deliver realistic long-term solutions to our National Game.
The letter asks Everton and Liverpool to support Fair Game and the findings of the Review and "preserve our footballing institutions for generations to come".
It reads: "We are calling on Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs to join us in supporting both the Fan-Led Review and the introduction of Fair Game’s Sustainability Index, which scores all professional clubs on how well they perform on five measures: financial sustainability, good governance, equality standards, community engagement and fan engagement.
"This will incentivise clubs to be well run, encourage them to become embedded in their community and financially viable for the long term, leading to a more prosperous game for fans and clubs alike."
Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale was part of the expert panel for the Fan-Led Review back in 2021. In the club's most recent Q&A with its Fan Advisory Board, the Blues stated their position, saying: "The club has closely monitored the findings of the Government’s Fan-Led Review, which identified 10 strategic and 47 detailed recommendations for football. The club is confident that it will be able to implement all of the club-facing recommendations, with many of them already in place at Everton. "
The proposals are already backed by Fair Game clubs such as Tranmere Rovers and Chester FC, but the 10 called on Everton and Liverpool to join Tranmere and Chester in publicly supporting the Fan-Led Review, the Sustainability Index, and join Fair Game.
The letter continued: "The introduction of the Sustainability Index promoted by Fair Game clubs like Tranmere Rovers would be the best way to combine good governance with effective financial balance."
Liverpool topped the first edition of the Sustainability Index. Everton finished sixth. The Sustainability Index, released by Fair Game last week, is the culmination of 18 months of expert-led work by the organisation. The Sustainability Index offers a simple metric an Independent Regulator could use to fairly redistribute funds throughout the football pyramid.
The MPs called the Merseyside rivals "a symbol of pride for the city of Liverpool and the wider region" and described their influence as a potential “game changer for a Fairer Game”.
Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, added: "Football is at a crossroads. Since the turn of the century a third of English clubs have gone into administration. The pandemic left several clubs on their knees, and the cost-of-living crisis threatens to be the knock-out blow.
"We need to start championing financial sustainability, good governance, equality standards and fan engagement. And there is a huge role Liverpool and Everton can play in shaping that new future for football. A fairer future."
