MyFootballClub
Encyclopedia
MyFootballClub is an English
Industrial and Provident Society
that sought, starting in August 2007, to recruit at least 50,000 football enthusiasts from across the world to purchase an English association football club
. MyFootballClub's premise is to allow its paid members to control the club through a democratic voting process conducted over the internet
. Member voting includes matters both on the pitch, such as team selection and player transfers, and off the field, like what type of food to serve at the stadium.
On 23 January 2008, 95.89% of MyFC members had agreed to the purchase of a 75% share in Ebbsfleet United F.C., thereby authorising MyFC's purchase of that club. With its purchase of a majority share of Ebbsfleet United, MyFootballClub became the first online community to fully run a professional sports club in history.
1,375,000 if 50,000 people were to sign up as members. All members have voting rights on certain decisions in the club purchased by MyFC and they will collectively manage that club, by making many of the decisions usually made by the manager
and others, through a voting system on the MyFootballClub website. However, they do not actually hold any shares. The watershed figure of 50,000 registrations expressing interest in participation was passed on 31 July 2007, with a total of 53,051 registrations completed at that time. At that point, MyFC began collecting payments from those who had registered as well as any new people who signed up subsequently, opening what MyFootballClub described as "phase 2". Paid-up members would participate in a non-binding vote on takeover preference, with Leeds United initially leading the member voting, followed by Cambridge United
and Nottingham Forest
.
Brooks had said that the club purchased would likely be playing in Football League Two
or the Conference National
, and MyFootballClub's managers had opened talks with a number of clubs from those leagues. Negotiations between MyFC and various football clubs remained secret during this period due to the confidential nature of the purchase discussions and because of the number of different clubs involved. Also around this time, EA Sports
, the sports simulation video games division of Electronic Arts
, agreed to a deal with MyFootballClub that "will be supporting us with a significant investment" to boost the group's football club purchasing fund.
On 6 August 2007 it was revealed that four clubs had approached MyFootballClub about the possibility of a sale. Shortly thereafter, The Independent
reported that MyFootballClub had raised approximately £
500,000 in the first 20 days it had been collecting funds from members to purchase a football club. On 3 September 2007 it was reported that Halifax Town
had approached MyFootballClub in an attempt to save the football club from a winding-up order over unpaid taxes. In May 2008, it became public that the other two clubs besides Ebbsfleet United that MyFC had come closest to purchasing were League Two's Mansfield Town
and Leigh RMI, then of the Conference North
.
club Ebbsfleet United, which had been known as Gravesend and Northfleet F.C. until early in 2007. Ebbsfleet United was chosen out of the nine football clubs that approached MyFC about a possible purchase. A process of due diligence was entered into, with "lawyers and the accountants...looking through the books and the accounts to make sure there are no skeletons in the cupboards."
On 16 January 2008, MyFootballClub publicly announced the terms of its proposed purchase of Ebbsfleet United and put the terms of the sale to a vote of its members. MyFC members had seven days to register their opinion on the club's £635,000 takeover. For the sale to be finalised, 50% of the votes cast had to be in favour, with no quorum
required. 18,112 MyFC members voted on the takeover, with 95.89% (17,368 members) in favour of purchasing a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United.
Current Ebbsfleet United manager Liam Daish
voiced his support for the deal soon after it was publicly announced. Speaking on the official Ebbsfleet United website, Daish said:
Opinions on the proposed deal were mixed, as Daish's view was echoed by some football fans, but others, including some people currently involved with the sport, were less sanguine about MyFootballClub's involvement with Ebbsfleet United. Even some football insiders were positive about MyFC's proposed purchase of Ebbsfleet, however, including a representative of Brentford
, who told CNN
that the deal was " a very positive move for football because the club is owned by people who have real passion for it."
Following the approval of the purchase of Ebbsfleet United by the members of MyFC in January 2008, the leadership of MyFootballClub stated that its members would be able to make decisions affecting the club in future, including picking the starting lineup for matches, but a later members' vote resulted in a decision to leave selection issues to head coach Liam Daish. Ebbsfleet United's first trip to Wembley Stadium
, and victory in the 2008 FA Trophy
added to the publicity for the project, but questions about an internet society owning a football club remained.
In August 2008, members of MyFootballClub were presented with the type of choice usually reserved for small board of directors: whether to approve a transfer
of a player to another club. Ebbsfleet received a £140,000 offer from an unnamed club for forward John Akinde
, and as the members of MyFC are the legal owners of the Fleet, they voted on whether to accept that offer. Shortly after the vote for members was publicly announced, it was reported that Championship
side Bristol City
had made the offer for Akinde. On 29 August 2008, MyFC members approved Akinde's transfer by more than an 82% percent majority.
Even with the £150,000 realised from the Akinde transfer, plus possible add-on fees, Ebbsfleet's financial situation is precarious notwithstanding the investment of funds from MyFC. The Fleet faces an estimated annual loss of approximately £800,000, and MyFC's monetary contribution may not be able to cover the deficiency. Some commentators have noted that participation in votes on the MyFC website has decreased since the initial takeover vote, and if members do not renew their MyFC memberships, it will reduce the funds available for MyFC to invest in Ebbsfleet United.
It was reported in November 2009 that an estimated 23,000 members that had originally signed up prior to the takeover of Ebbsfleet F.C. no longer visited the site, nor contributed towards memberships, leaving around 9,000 active members. By the time of the next membership renewal date, it emerged that the renewal rate had fallen to 20%, with only 800 out of a previous 4000 members still subscribing.
In 2011, with Ebbsfleet languishing in a regional league and membership standing at just 3000, interest in the project had waned so much that a vote on whether to relinquish control of transfers back to the manager attracted a mere 132 votes.
, and by the end of October 2007, MyFC had 380 paying members from Norway, 280 from Sweden, 97 from Finland, and 88 from Denmark. By January 2008, over 1,500 Americans had become paid members of MyFootballClub.
Additionally, non-English members of MyFC began to attend matches of Ebbsfleet United. For example, on 5 January 2008, at Ebbsfleet's home match against Weymouth
, MyFC members that hailed from Berlin
, Copenhagen
, and Florida
were in attendance.
Media outlets from all over the world have also shown a continuing interest in the project, including news organizations from Australia, Chile, Germany, India, Italy, Sweden,, the United States, and Vietnam.
By 14 May 2008, paid-up membership in MyFC reached 30,000 people. The 31,000th paid-up member joined on 11 September 2008.
The first renewal date for most members was 19 February 2009. By 23 February total membership stood at slightly less than 9,500.
As of March 2010, the membership total stands at around 4,000, with just 800 renewing of the remainder of the existing 9,500 up for renewal in February 2010.
inaugurated myBUFC in September 2007, which aims to put the management of that club in the hands of paid-up members, both on and off the field, in a way similar to MyFootballClub. The People's Club was launched in October 2007 and is a similar scheme looking to allow fans to acquire and run a lower-level English football club. Ownaclub.com, a comparable project founded in 2009, has a similar objective with the key difference being that rather than requiring fans to pay an annual subscription, a one off payment secures a permanent share of any acquired club.
Another UK-based project is Fivepoundfootballclub, an active community which aims to take charge of a lower league club in the UK, excluding England due to the higher cost required for success in that country. Members are required to donate £5 to the investment fund on joining. As of June 2011, this community had drawn up a shortlist for investment consisting of four clubs in the Welsh League system.
Projects outside the UK include:
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
Industrial and Provident Society
Industrial and Provident Society
An industrial and provident society is a legal entity for a trading business or voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand...
that sought, starting in August 2007, to recruit at least 50,000 football enthusiasts from across the world to purchase an English association football club
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
. MyFootballClub's premise is to allow its paid members to control the club through a democratic voting process conducted over the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Member voting includes matters both on the pitch, such as team selection and player transfers, and off the field, like what type of food to serve at the stadium.
On 23 January 2008, 95.89% of MyFC members had agreed to the purchase of a 75% share in Ebbsfleet United F.C., thereby authorising MyFC's purchase of that club. With its purchase of a majority share of Ebbsfleet United, MyFootballClub became the first online community to fully run a professional sports club in history.
Background
MyFC was engineered by former football journalist Will Brooks. Brooks initially estimated MyFC's purchase fund at £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,375,000 if 50,000 people were to sign up as members. All members have voting rights on certain decisions in the club purchased by MyFC and they will collectively manage that club, by making many of the decisions usually made by the manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and others, through a voting system on the MyFootballClub website. However, they do not actually hold any shares. The watershed figure of 50,000 registrations expressing interest in participation was passed on 31 July 2007, with a total of 53,051 registrations completed at that time. At that point, MyFC began collecting payments from those who had registered as well as any new people who signed up subsequently, opening what MyFootballClub described as "phase 2". Paid-up members would participate in a non-binding vote on takeover preference, with Leeds United initially leading the member voting, followed by Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
.
Brooks had said that the club purchased would likely be playing in Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
or the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
, and MyFootballClub's managers had opened talks with a number of clubs from those leagues. Negotiations between MyFC and various football clubs remained secret during this period due to the confidential nature of the purchase discussions and because of the number of different clubs involved. Also around this time, EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
, the sports simulation video games division of Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, agreed to a deal with MyFootballClub that "will be supporting us with a significant investment" to boost the group's football club purchasing fund.
On 6 August 2007 it was revealed that four clubs had approached MyFootballClub about the possibility of a sale. Shortly thereafter, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reported that MyFootballClub had raised approximately £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500,000 in the first 20 days it had been collecting funds from members to purchase a football club. On 3 September 2007 it was reported that Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
had approached MyFootballClub in an attempt to save the football club from a winding-up order over unpaid taxes. In May 2008, it became public that the other two clubs besides Ebbsfleet United that MyFC had come closest to purchasing were League Two's Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
and Leigh RMI, then of the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
.
Ebbsfleet United
On 13 November 2007, MyFootballClub announced that it had agreed in principle to purchase Conference NationalConference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
club Ebbsfleet United, which had been known as Gravesend and Northfleet F.C. until early in 2007. Ebbsfleet United was chosen out of the nine football clubs that approached MyFC about a possible purchase. A process of due diligence was entered into, with "lawyers and the accountants...looking through the books and the accounts to make sure there are no skeletons in the cupboards."
On 16 January 2008, MyFootballClub publicly announced the terms of its proposed purchase of Ebbsfleet United and put the terms of the sale to a vote of its members. MyFC members had seven days to register their opinion on the club's £635,000 takeover. For the sale to be finalised, 50% of the votes cast had to be in favour, with no quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
required. 18,112 MyFC members voted on the takeover, with 95.89% (17,368 members) in favour of purchasing a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United.
Current Ebbsfleet United manager Liam Daish
Liam Daish
Liam Sean Daish is a former football player who played as a centre-half. Since 2005 he has been head coach of Conference National team Ebbsfleet United . Despite being born in England, Daish played internationally for the Republic of Ireland due to his Irish ancestry...
voiced his support for the deal soon after it was publicly announced. Speaking on the official Ebbsfleet United website, Daish said:
"Everyone has worked wonders to get this club into the top half of the Conference. We all agree the club needs something extra to take it to the next step. As a football fan, I think the MyFootballClub idea is fantastic. And as the coach, I look forward to the challenge of working with thousands of members to produce a winning team. Alan KimbleAlan KimbleAlan Kimble is a retired English professional footballer.-Youth:Left back Kimble started his career at Charlton Athletic alongside his twin brother, Garry Kimble...
and myself are 100% committed to making this work."
Opinions on the proposed deal were mixed, as Daish's view was echoed by some football fans, but others, including some people currently involved with the sport, were less sanguine about MyFootballClub's involvement with Ebbsfleet United. Even some football insiders were positive about MyFC's proposed purchase of Ebbsfleet, however, including a representative of Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
, who told CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
that the deal was " a very positive move for football because the club is owned by people who have real passion for it."
Following the approval of the purchase of Ebbsfleet United by the members of MyFC in January 2008, the leadership of MyFootballClub stated that its members would be able to make decisions affecting the club in future, including picking the starting lineup for matches, but a later members' vote resulted in a decision to leave selection issues to head coach Liam Daish. Ebbsfleet United's first trip to Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, and victory in the 2008 FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
added to the publicity for the project, but questions about an internet society owning a football club remained.
In August 2008, members of MyFootballClub were presented with the type of choice usually reserved for small board of directors: whether to approve a transfer
Transfer (football)
In professional association football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between professional clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one professional association football club to another. In general, the players can only be...
of a player to another club. Ebbsfleet received a £140,000 offer from an unnamed club for forward John Akinde
John Akinde
John Job Ayo Akinde is an English footballer who plays for Crawley Town as a striker.-Career:Akinde signed for Bristol City following the first ever transfer decided by a fans poll, in this case by the members of MyFootballClub. Prior to playing for Bristol City, Akinde played for Ebbsfleet...
, and as the members of MyFC are the legal owners of the Fleet, they voted on whether to accept that offer. Shortly after the vote for members was publicly announced, it was reported that Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
had made the offer for Akinde. On 29 August 2008, MyFC members approved Akinde's transfer by more than an 82% percent majority.
Even with the £150,000 realised from the Akinde transfer, plus possible add-on fees, Ebbsfleet's financial situation is precarious notwithstanding the investment of funds from MyFC. The Fleet faces an estimated annual loss of approximately £800,000, and MyFC's monetary contribution may not be able to cover the deficiency. Some commentators have noted that participation in votes on the MyFC website has decreased since the initial takeover vote, and if members do not renew their MyFC memberships, it will reduce the funds available for MyFC to invest in Ebbsfleet United.
It was reported in November 2009 that an estimated 23,000 members that had originally signed up prior to the takeover of Ebbsfleet F.C. no longer visited the site, nor contributed towards memberships, leaving around 9,000 active members. By the time of the next membership renewal date, it emerged that the renewal rate had fallen to 20%, with only 800 out of a previous 4000 members still subscribing.
In 2011, with Ebbsfleet languishing in a regional league and membership standing at just 3000, interest in the project had waned so much that a vote on whether to relinquish control of transfers back to the manager attracted a mere 132 votes.
Membership and worldwide reach
MyFootballClub members come from over 70 countries. One of the regions in which MyFootballClub was most popular was ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, and by the end of October 2007, MyFC had 380 paying members from Norway, 280 from Sweden, 97 from Finland, and 88 from Denmark. By January 2008, over 1,500 Americans had become paid members of MyFootballClub.
Additionally, non-English members of MyFC began to attend matches of Ebbsfleet United. For example, on 5 January 2008, at Ebbsfleet's home match against Weymouth
Weymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...
, MyFC members that hailed from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
were in attendance.
Media outlets from all over the world have also shown a continuing interest in the project, including news organizations from Australia, Chile, Germany, India, Italy, Sweden,, the United States, and Vietnam.
By 14 May 2008, paid-up membership in MyFC reached 30,000 people. The 31,000th paid-up member joined on 11 September 2008.
The first renewal date for most members was 19 February 2009. By 23 February total membership stood at slightly less than 9,500.
As of March 2010, the membership total stands at around 4,000, with just 800 renewing of the remainder of the existing 9,500 up for renewal in February 2010.
Similar projects
Projects that are similar to MyFootballClub exist in both England and in at least 11 other countries. The ownership of the semi-professional English football club Biggleswade UnitedBiggleswade United F.C.
Biggleswade United F.C. are a football club based in Biggleswade, England. The club is affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.- History :...
inaugurated myBUFC in September 2007, which aims to put the management of that club in the hands of paid-up members, both on and off the field, in a way similar to MyFootballClub. The People's Club was launched in October 2007 and is a similar scheme looking to allow fans to acquire and run a lower-level English football club. Ownaclub.com, a comparable project founded in 2009, has a similar objective with the key difference being that rather than requiring fans to pay an annual subscription, a one off payment secures a permanent share of any acquired club.
Another UK-based project is Fivepoundfootballclub, an active community which aims to take charge of a lower league club in the UK, excluding England due to the higher cost required for success in that country. Members are required to donate £5 to the investment fund on joining. As of June 2011, this community had drawn up a shortlist for investment consisting of four clubs in the Welsh League system.
Projects outside the UK include:
- BrazilFootball in BrazilFootball is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament a record 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favourites to win...
: MTDF, or "Meu Time de Futebol," was launched in January 2008 with the aim of acquiring a club in the second tier of Brazilian footballFootball in BrazilFootball is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament a record 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favourites to win...
by the end of 2008. - DenmarkFootball in DenmarkAssociation football is the national sport of Denmark, with 342,955 players and 1,647 clubs registered under the Danish FA.- League system :The top 4 levels in Denmark are governed by the Danish Football Association...
: Mitsuperligahold, which was launched in August 2007 with the aim of acquiring a club in the second tier of professional Danish football, the First DivisionDanish 1st DivisionThe 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
. - FranceFootball in FranceFootball is the most popular sport in France. The Fédération Française de Football is the national governing bodyand is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of association football in the country, both professional and amateur...
: Web F.C.Web F.C.Web F.C. is a semi-professional lower-level French football club that plays in a regional league called the Ligue de Basse-Normandie. Web F.C. allows its members, called "entraînautes," to vote on strategic and tactical decisions through the club's website, including selection of the starting...
allows its members, called "entraînautes," to vote on strategic and tactical decisions relating to a lower-level French club in the Ligue de Basse-Normandie through a website. Unlike MyFootballClub's members, members of Web F.C. do not have to pay a fee to participate in the decision-making, but the more they participate, the more value his or her vote is accorded. - GermanyFootball in GermanyAssociation football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
: Deinfussballclub.de was launched in April 2008 with the aim of acquiring 49% of SC Fortuna KölnSC Fortuna KölnSC Fortuna Köln is a German association football club playing in the city of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:The club was formed as on 21 February 1948 through the merger of three local sides: Victoria Köln 1911 , Bayenthaler SV 1920, and Sparkassen-Verein Köln 1927...
; a club that plays in the German Oberliga Nordrhein-WestfalenOberliga Nordrhein-WestfalenThe NRW-Liga, or Nordrhein-Westfalen-Liga, is the highest football League in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the eleven Oberliga groups in German football, the 5th tier of the German football league system....
, a lower-level professional league. - IsraelFootball in IsraelFootball is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport first developed in the United Kingdom who controlled Israel during the days of the British Mandate. Israel will be hosting the UEFA U-21 Championship in 2013....
: Web2Sport currently operates Hapoel Kiryay ShalomHapoel Kiryat Shalom F.C.Hapoel "Easy-Forex" Kiryat Shalom F.C. is an Israeli football club based in Tel Aviv. Playing in Liga Gimel, the fifth level of Israeli football, they are notable for being the first interactive fan-managed sports team, as almost all playing-related decisions are taken through votes on the...
, a Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
club that plays in Liga GimelLiga GimelLiga Gimel is the fifth and bottom tier of Israeli football league system, a position it has held since 2009.-History:Between 1999 and 2009 it was the sixth tier after Liga Bet, Between 1974 and 1999 it was the fifth tier after the creation of Liga Artzit, and between 1949 and 1974 it was the...
, the sixth tier of Israeli footballFootball in IsraelFootball is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport first developed in the United Kingdom who controlled Israel during the days of the British Mandate. Israel will be hosting the UEFA U-21 Championship in 2013....
. Web2Sport allows voting on numerous club functions, including the composition of the club's starting lineup. - ItalyFootball in ItalyFootball is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
: Squadramia, which was started in January 2008, is an online community that seeks 20,000 members to buy an Italian footballFootball in ItalyFootball is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
club. In late 2008 the web community purchased Santarcangelo Calcio 1926 a team in the Italian Serie D, the fifth tier of the Italian football system. - JapanFootball in JapanAssociation football is one of the most popular sports in Japan. Its nationwide organization, Japan Football Association, administers the professional football league, J...
: Fujieda MYFC is a team playing in the Japanese regional leagues funded by online subscribers. The team which is based in FujiedaFujieda, Shizuokais a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. The modern city was founded on March 31, 1954. As of February 2009, the town has an estimated population of 142,023 and a density of 732 persons per km². The total area is 194.03 km².-Geography:...
, ShizuokaShizuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
, is the first of its kind in Japan. - PolandFootball in PolandFootball is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.There are hundreds of...
: KupimyKlub.pl is a Polish project, was launched in May 2008. The purchase of the club is planned for season 2008/09 in the Polish league. - RomaniaFootball in RomaniaFootball is the most popular sport in Romania. The Romanian Football Federation , a member of UEFA, is the sport's national governing body.-League system:...
: Clubulmeudefotbal started on 7 July 2007 as an online community that seeks 50,000 members that are willing to pay an annual membership fee of 50 Euros and aims to buy a Romanian football club. - RussiaFootball in RussiaWhen the USSR broke down into 15 different countries, the once renowned sports structure collapsed as well. Football was one of the most popular sports in the Soviet Union. While the national teams and the clubs used to be linked to state institutions or mass organizations, in 1991 they became...
: MyFootballClub.ru has a proposed start date of 2007-12-10, but is not affiliated with MyFC. - SpainFootball in SpainFootball is the most popular sport in Spain. The Royal Spanish Football Federation is the national governing body and it organizes La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spain national football team, current champion of the FIFA World Cup...
: miclubdefutbol.com proposes to raise funds and buy a Spanish lower league club, as does Mi Equipo Favorito, which was launched in January 2008 with the aim of acquiring a club in a Spanish league. - United StatesSoccer in the United StatesSoccer, fully known as association football,See the articles Football and Names for association football#North America for more detailed explanations of the differing names for soccer. has long been a popular sport in the United States...
: In 2007, two efforts to crowd-own a team were underway, but have since become dormant: MySoccerClubUSA, which would have allowed fans who pay a fee to join a website which will start a club from scratch to play in either the United Soccer LeaguesUnited Soccer LeaguesThe United Soccer Leagues is the organizer of several soccer leagues with teams in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It includes men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Leagues currently organized are the USL Pro, the USL Premier Development League, the W-League, and...
(USL) or the National Premier Soccer LeagueNational Premier Soccer LeagueThe National Premier Soccer League is a United States soccer league recognized by the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA as a Division IV league...
(NPSL), and SaveTheVictory.org, which attempted to raise enough money to purchase the now-defunct San Francisco-based USL club, California VictoryCalifornia VictoryThe California Victory was a USL First Division professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California. It was an expansion team for the 2007 season, but ceased operation in September of that year after parent club Deportivo Alavés withdrew its support....
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