Accounting for supporters: developing a new supporter focused reporting framework for the English football league

Summary – This thesis argues that a new supporter focused reporting framework is required in the English football industry to help improve the governance and management of clubs through increased accountability and transparency. Justification – The recent Fan Led Review is the latest report to highlight the poor governance practices of many football clubs in England. It made 47 recommendations for improvements, but paid very little attention to accountability and transparency as part of the solution. Accountability and transparency are powerful tools to elicit improved performance and should be seriously considered as part of the solution. This thesis fills the gap by recommending improvements in this area. Aims – This thesis has three main aims. Firstly, to identify the reporting needs of loyal, engaged and informed supporters of EFL clubs. Secondly to evaluate whether current reporting practices meet those needs. Finally, to recommend a new reporting framework, and provide a draft concept report, suitable for supporter focused accountability. Methods – Eleven key informants took part in a three stage process. Firstly, one-to-one interviews identify participants’ reporting needs. 25 focus group sessions then reviewed current reporting practice, and finally developed a new reporting framework. Findings – Participants expressed reporting needs in four key areas: Financial, Governance, Sporting and Social factors. Current reporting is found to be lacking in providing the level of accountability to satisfy supporter needs. Justification of the need for the reporting framework was provided based on a football club being a special business, having social accountability, the need to improve behaviour and redress of the social contract between clubs and supporters. Recommendations – Recommendations for a new supporter focused reporting framework are provided for each section and a concept report also provided. The recommended reporting framework is not intended to be a definitive end point, rather an exercise to stimulate debate and a starting point to negotiate an appropriate level of reporting with clubs, owners and directors

‘Growing your own’: a multi-level modelling approach to understanding personal food growing trends and motivations in Europe

Growing food for personal and family consumption is a significant global activity, but one that has received insufficient academic attention, particularly in developed countries. This paper uses data from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) to address three areas of particular concern: the prevalence of growing your own food and how this has changed over time; the individual and household context in which growing takes place; and whether those who grow their own food are happier than those who do not. Results showed that there was a marked increase in growing your own food in Europe, in the period 2003–2007. This increase is largely associated with poorer households and thus, possibly, economic hardship. In the UK however the increase in growing your own food is predominantly associated with older middle class households. Across Europe, whether causal or not, those who grew their own were happier than those who did not. The paper therefore concludes that claims about the gentrification of growing your own may be premature. Despite contrary evidence from the UK, the dominant motive across Europe appears to be primarily economic — to reduce household expenditure whilst ensuring a supply of fresh food