Dispatches - how to own a football club

Did anyone watch it last night? Very concerning how easy it seemed that a club could be bought by secret groups. Plymouth watch out.

 

i missed it matster, which club featured, notts county?

 

A very insightful programme..

Clubs being mentioned were Leicester, Cardiff, Sheff Wed, Oxford but the deal the undercover investigators were offered was for Sheff Utd (the stadium on the programme trailers had been quite misleading).

Bryan Robson won't have come out of this smelling of roses & to be honest, I'd be very very surprised if he ever managed an English club again. Mind you, I've always had my doubts about Fergie as well.

It's worth watching AJ, so just click the link..


http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od

 

It certainly looks like the whole business needs cleaning up. They need to set up a governing body to deal with it ... oh the FA!! Seriously a department needs to be set up that meets all the potential owners and they commit to the fact that they are not a front for someone else. How much money laundering is going on in all this?

One of the interesting stats was that only FIVE premiership clubs (correct me if i got that wrong Jenny) were owned by trusts within the UK and the rest were offshore.

 

Shrewsbury Town FC is also registered offshore, I was very surprised to learn this.

 

Yeah, I think in the Prem there are 15 clubs owned by off-shore trusts, leaving just the 5 with the UK. But the Championship is worse still, having 17 off-shore trusts & only the 7 owned within the UK.

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/94fe464114753216c59be64287802578/compdetails

 

Jenny your link has 'timed out'

 

I'm sorry but any company where all (or the majority) of employees/owners live in a country then that company should be registered there. What happened to Gordon Brown and then David Cameron/Georgie Boy Osborne saying they were going to deal with these tax havens??

 

My link is timed out? How very rude!

STFC PLC are registered with Companies House. Our registered office is the ground, down at Oteley Road & there are NO oversees details attached to the company (if I've read it right).

 

companieshouse - STFC

 

That's exactly the link I had, but be careful. They time out!

 

since when is wales offshore

 

thats better i was beginning to believe stfc was registered on bardsey island. incidentally lord knows where plymouth argyle may be registered, drakes island? captain art though sleeping down below!

 

This thing about STFC being registered offshore has surfaced in discussion recently. I believe the confusion arises because the trust fund which holds the Wycherley (or some of the family) shares is registered offshore.