POLITICAL leaders have made a statement by supporting a grassroots sporting movement.

Barrow Council voted unanimously to become the sixth council that officially supports the organisation Fair Game, which says that it is time to reboot the game and bring together ‘value-driven’ clubs to call for change.

Councillor Ben Shirley said: “I’m really pleased that my motion was passed unanimously by councillors at Barrow Borough Council.

“The financial model of football is broken. I’m calling for the government to implement in full the excellent review into football governance by Tracey Crouch MP.

“If this happens, along with Fair Game’s principles, then clubs throughout the football pyramid, and the communities where they’re based, will have a much sustainable and successful future.”

Barrow MP Simon Fell has previously supported the organisation.

He said: ”Football is so important to the people of Barrow. Fair Game wants to ensure that clubs will be there for the long term and I fully support that. We need to move towards a funding model that rewards and incentivises well-run clubs.

"At the moment a club relegated from the Premier League gets £55m - that’s more than all the clubs in League One and League Two put together. Let’s reallocate that and ring-fence it so that most of that money goes to the excellent work clubs do in the community.

"That is ethical capitalism. The Conservative party pledged to deliver change and we reiterated that after the debacle of the European Super League. Properly embedding football in the communities is the root to safeguarding the future of our clubs and is at the very heart of Fair Game’s ethos – that makes sense to me and I urge Barrow AFC to join them.”

In November 2021, Barrow AFC asked supporters to tell them what they thought of the initiative.

At the time, Chief Executive Levi Gill discussed the matter with fellow League Two clubs and it was also a topic of debate at a Trust Board meeting.

At the time, Gill said: “There is a growing consensus across the game that reform is needed urgently if our pyramid – the crown jewel of English football – is to survive and thrive in the years to come.

“What is less clear is the detail behind that reform and the specifics on what changes are needed in order to safeguard the future of our national sport."