- 17 Jun 08, 10:05 AM
Fletch mentioned in one of his blogs ahead of Euro 2008 how only 7% of the tournament's revenue has been generated by ticket sales, begging the question whether fans are becoming of increasing peripheral importance in international football.
What's important to remember is that without supporters the television companies wouldn't be paying the astronomical sums they do to cover football, be it at club or international level. The thought of Holland versus Italy or France without those colourful and boisterous Dutch fans doesn't bear thinking about...
But given their importance, just how much input do fans have on the decision-making process within Uefa or Fifa? Uefa's website has a section while Fifa have a section, but that's about it.
Likewise, look at any national association website and you'd be hard pressed to see just what input fans have on the way those organisations are run.
Which brings me to . Last season, the non-league club were taken over by the website MyFootballClub.co.uk.
It's still early days for that venture, but I was intrigued by the outcome of the recent vote to decide the price of season tickets for the 2008/2009 season. Forty-eight percent of those polled voted to keep prices at the same level as last season.
The founder of MyFootballClub, Will Brooks, has long been interested in the idea of the wisdom of crowds - that better decisions are made by large groups rather than a few individuals.
Which got me wondering if the English FA would have ended up appointing someone other than Steve McClaren back in 2006 had supporters been allowed to have an input.
Similarly, would fans have given their backing to the building of a ? And, if they had, would they have spent the best part of a decade deciding, like the FA did?
Or what about Uefa canvassing the views of supporters on ticket allocations for big matches, like the Champions League or Uefa Cup finals?
Should Uefa, Fifa and the numerous national associations listen to their fans more? Let me know your view.
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