The Political Economy of Football V2

Supporters Direct Scotland report on clubs in trouble north of the border: With two League One clubs in administration, the season just finished marked a new period of instability for Scottish football clubs after more than a decade without any insolvency events. There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for both Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dumbarton, but following developments in recent weeks it seems that another may be in even deeper trouble. In Inverness, agreement has been reached for Caley Thistle to exit administration after almost 8 months. Earlier this week, a Creditor’s Voluntary Agreement was reached with 100% support which should see the club begin the new season under the ownership of Alan Savage. Meanwhile, we learned yesterday that an old name has returned to senior football in the north… Inverness Thistle, one of the two clubs who merged in the 1990s to form ICT and who re-formed last year, have been accepted as the 13th club in the North C...

The administrators at Dumbarton FC, Quantuma, part of the AIM-listed K3 Capital Group, have provided an online and video update on their work in trying to salvage the club, clean up the financial situation, and bring it into responsible and sustainable ownership moving forward. Fans have done an incredible job in raising nearly £100,000 through a GoFundMe ‘Save Our Sons’ fundraiser at  https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-sons-1872 . That will keep the team on the pitch through to March 2025, but Quantuma estimate that another £30,000 will be required to reach the end of the season – so the effort will now need a new burst of energy.  It is reported that there have been some 20 expressions of interest in purchasing Dumbarton, one of Scotland’s most historic clubs. A group of people close to the Sons are also putting in a Letter of Community Interest, seeking a pathway forward “to progress possibilities for a form of future ownership which prioritises the safeguarding a...

Sadly, Dumbarton FC have entered administration:  https://www.consultancy.uk/news/38856/dumbarton-football-club-brings-in-quantuma-for-administration Police are investigating suspected fraud at the club:  https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/24737449.get-rich-quick-pipe-dream-caused-sad-collapse-dumbarton/ Given the troubles at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, there are concerns about the state of Scottish football below the top flight.

Developments at Dumbarton have raised wider issues for the Scottish Football Supporters' Association (SFSA). Worried by the lack of transparency surrounding the sale of the club to Cognitive Capital, an investment vehicle for Norwegian Henning Kristoffersen and associates, supporters at Dumbarton put a series of questions to the board, most of which have still not been adequately answered. The issue of offshore assets and the ultimate intentions of the people involved comes into play in a complex and murky story. So does the failure of sponsorship deals. SFSA co-founder and vice-chair Simon Barrow, who has had a long-standing involvement at Dumbarton, and who was a non-executive director of the club until the end of 2020, is involved with a group of stakeholders monitoring the situation closely and seeking to help ensure the security of the club. Among the unresolved issues are a behind-the-scenes row about allegations of misappropriation of assets, the involvement of a 'cons...

Reports from Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball have shown a number of small Scottish clubs turning a smallprofit despite the effects of Covid-19. The latest to report for 2019/20 is Dumbarton.   They have recorded a profit of £17,000.   Dumbarton have shifted from a £32k overdraft to £55k in the bank but this is mainly due to taking out a loan in the year of £80k. Dumbarton have historically been the beneficiary of significant grants, for infrastructure projects by the looks of it. Club is controlled by a company in Belize.