Football Supporters Europe vedtager deklaration mod multiklubejeskaber

June 28, 2025

-MCO’er er skadeligt for fodbolden.  Det har de europæiske fans’ øverste organ netop slået fast i en enstemmig vedtagelse, der appelerer til at skærpe restriktionerne mod ejerskabsforme

Generalforsamlingen i Football Supporters Europe (FSE) har for kort tid siden vedtaget at udsende en indstilling til, hvad der bør stilles op over for flerklubsejerskaber(MCO’er)

FSE udtaler i deklarationen en kras kritik af MCO’erne og opstiller en række bekymringspunkter vedr. deres indtog i europæisk fodbold.

Konklusionen lyder at MCO’er er dårligt for fodbolden.

Videre stiller den europæiske fan-organisation krav om at smuthullerne i UEFA’s regelsæt skal lukkes således at klubber med fælles ejere ikke kan deltage i samme turneringer. 

-Klubbernes identitet skal beskyttes, og der skal være langt mere gennemsigtighed omkring ejerskaberne, og økonomien og bevægelserne mellem klubberne. 

-EU og nationale regeringer opfordres til at skride til handling for at beskytte lokale fælleskaber mod MCO’ernes skadelige virkning.

Generalforsamlingen var en del af programmet på FSE’s store årlige kongres, der finder sted denne weekend i Malmø. FFB blev som forening medlem i november sidste år og var repræsenteret med to medlemmer af bestyrelsen. Thorbjørn Maigaard deltog i formiddagens generalforsamling og optrådte også fredag eftermiddag i en paneldebat, der netop omhandlede MCO’ernes indflydelse på europæisk fodbold. 

Danske Fodbold Fans(DFF) var medforslagsstiller. Foruden FFB, stemte også Brøndby Support også for forslaget, der blev enstemmigt vedtaget.

Vi bringer flere historier fra weekendens kongres her på siden de kommende dage.

Du kan læse hele forslaget der var til afstemning her:

Multi Club Ownership (MCO) raises growing concerns on sporting integrity and fairness, especially when clubs with mutual owners are allowed to participate in the same European or domestic competitions.  

In the 2024/25 season, there are 147 investment groups with stakes in 400+ clubs globally, of which 236 are in Europe. In total, there are 35 identified multi-club groups with stakes in at least two top-tier clubs across UEFA, which is a record high. Furthermore, 42% of clubs competing in a UEFA competition in 2024/25 have at least one investor/shareholder linked with another football club, with potential consequences such as money laundering risks, according to a study published by criminologists from Manchester University in January 2025.  

Not all MCO structures have immeasurable financial backing behind them. Some are very fragile, creating a situation where a series of clubs can be impacted if the ownership group, or one of the clubs in the chain, experiences financial difficulties or even bankruptcy. 777 partners are a prime example of this. 

There are transparency issues with clubs in MCO groups being able to shift players and funds back and forth among themselves and agree on inflated transfer fees, making it even more difficult to monitor compliance with club licensing and financial sustainability rules on squad costs and football earnings and leading to a distortion of the transfer market.  While recent changes introduced by UEFA to restrict the ability of owners to have two invested clubs in the same UEFA competition are welcome, MCO groups have shown they can continue to find new loopholes to seemingly comply with regulations as UEFA and governing bodies at the national level close them.  It’s difficult to see any benefit of these “synergies” for clubs when the specific club is not the one at the top of the food chain in the MCO structure. 

We have seen protests at clubs in Denmark, England, the Netherlands, and France in recent years. Fans of clubs involved in MCO structures have severe concerns about losing their club’s heritage and identity if it becomes merely a feeder club for higher-ranked clubs under the same ownership.  These and more concerns and their negative impacts were discussed in detail at FSE’s EFFC 2023 in Manchester and EFFC 2025, and not one positive ‘benefit’ for supporters or the game generally from such arrangements could be identified. 

MCO has been identified by participants as being one of the biggest threats towards football at the moment, due to its spread and potential long-term consequences and football clubs need protection from that risk.    

The FSE BGM declares: 

• FSE and its membership are widely critical of multi-club ownership structures and see these as a significant threat to European football. It’s clear-cut: MCO is bad for football. 

• Clubs owned by the same entity should not be able to compete in the same competition. 

• There must be greater transparency on who owns what within these structures, and operations and finances between clubs.  

• Club identities need to be properly protected rather than corroded by corporate branding and it should be required to have full and proper consultation with fans on this topic.

-More needs to be done by footballing governing bodies to tighten the regulations to tackle the concerns listed above 

• National governments and the European Commission should also consider action to protect supporters, and local communities from the harmful effects of multi-club ownership on their clubs.