In his 2021 book More Than a Game, the economist Mark Gregory lucidly sets out the argument for why reform of our national sport is vital and possible. “Football reflects choices” he states, and the same is true of politics. The free market, low-regulation ideology of Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek that was brought vividly to life in the Thatcher years was a choice. A choice that has led to globalisation and the brilliance of the Premier League but has also left us with unforeseen externalities that are less positive, particularly for the communities that clubs are rooted in.
You only need to have recently asked the people of Bury, Wigan, Derby and Macclesfield to see where the stresses of the system are felt when things go wrong. It is in streets and towns up and down the UK where the sustained damage occurs rather than the temporary bruising that wealthy financiers feel in their balance sheet. Gregory summarises that “reform is required to make sure the balance between the pursuit of money and the interests of the game is restored”.
