Professional Football (Regulation)

My hon. Friend, as Liverpool supporter, perhaps remembers that better than I do. The York model, like the model at Exeter City, with supporters taking over the clubs, has worked. I shall come later to the role of the supporter but the fans are central to the future of football. They built the clubs, and they are the future of the clubs, so a proper role for the fan is fundamental. The fact that we have already had a geographical tour of the nation is interesting, because this issue will be dismissed by some who will say, ““Why are parliamentarians talking about football?”” Does football matter when we could be debating the global financial crisis or the success of the national health service and all the things that you, Sir Nicholas, believe in as passionately as I do? Actually, football does matter. It matters to hon. Members on both sides of the House and to the people whom we represent.