The formation, organisation and management of MyFootballClub: Implications for marketing practice

Abstract

In January 2008, an internet-based company, MyFootballClub (MyFC), completed the purchase of Ebbsfl eet United, a small English football team playing in the nonprofessional Blue Square Premier League. The company ' s plan was to attempt a revolutionary management structure where fans, paying an affordable annual membership fee, could take over ownership of the club and, through democratic online voting, make every major decision concerning the club, from team selection to choosing sponsorship deals. This paper will present a case study of MyFC and examine how the organisation was formed, how it is organised and how it is managed. It starts by outlining the project background. The following section relates the objectives, which are split between tactical and general. A description of the strategy adopted by the team running the project and the tactics will follow. In the next section, the results achieved by MyFC will be presented, followed by a conclusion. We acknowledge that the project presents an evolution and a new alternative in terms of football clubs ownership. On the other hand, although the project can be deemed fairly successful in the short term, attention needs to be given in the long term to some manifestations of the members of the community.

Discordant fandom and global football brands: ‘Let the people sing’

“…Alternatively, fans might use a negative 'twist' approach (Fournier and Avery, 2011), whereby they alter the branding of the football club on their own merchandise in order to show discontent (Crawford, 2004;Healy and McDonagh, 2013). In contrast, maintaining a good relationship and taking into consideration the critical input of fan bases (Chadwick et al, 2008) is likely to lead to more benefits, such as increased match attendance and an improved atmosphere in the stadium (Guschwan, 2012). For Healy and McDonagh (2013) management must reconsider the actions which led to discontent amongst the fan base, and strive to take their viewpoints into consideration.…”

“…This echoes the viewpoints of Cleland (2010) and Cleland and Dixon (2014) on FCs, who contend that if the viewpoints of supporter organisations are ignored, this can lead to potential damage to the FC. However, unlike other types of consumers, a football fan is unlikely to switch allegiance as a result of disagreement with the management of the FC (Chadwick et al., 2008; Fillis and Mackay, 2014). As such, it is well established that FCs are closed and protective when dealing with their brand (McCarthy et al., 2014), although recently some clubs have recognised the need for change (Christodoulides, 2009).…”

Brand community, loyalty and promise in myfootballclub.co.uk

“…voting via the website) to make the latter technologically feasible, and co-ownership made it seem a practical possibility. Chadwick et al (2008) Critically, can longer-term brand loyalty be fostered so that the brand community becomes sustainable?…”

“…voting via the website) to make the latter technologically feasible, and co-ownership made it seem a practical possibility. Chadwick et al (2008) investigated the formation, organisation and management of MyFC, emphasising the uniqueness of the MyFC/EUFC model with respect to the potential influence of brand community members in the management of the brand. The possibility of becoming "more than just a fan" attracted thousands of supporters from many different countries to become fan-owners of MyFC/EUFC.…”

“…voting via the website) to make the latter technologically feasible, and co-ownership made it seem a practical possibility. Chadwick et al (2008) Critically, can longer-term brand loyalty be fostered so that the brand community becomes sustainable?8The MyFC community's formal membership structure and accessibility offered the opportunity to quantitatively examine these research questions. By seeking answers to the above questions through a series of quantitative analyses, this paper aims to contribute to an understanding of this emerging ownership model.…”