Earlier this week, LOFT wrote to the Premier League, Football League and Football Association, as part of its ongoing Olympic Stadium campaign. We promised at the recent meeting that such communication would be reproduced on this website, and below is the text of those letters:
Premier League
To: Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive
Dear Mr Scudamore,
The Leyton Orient Fans' Trust (LOFT) is an independent supporters' trust representing supporters of Leyton Orient Football Club. As you no doubt know, supporters' trusts are backed by Supporters Direct, the government-initiated organisation whose goal is to promote sustainable spectator sports clubs based on supporters' involvement & community ownership.
Our members, and the wider Leyton Orient supporter base, are very concerned at the decision of the Olympic Park Legacy Company to award West Ham United Football Club and Newham Council preferred bidder status for use of the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. Our deepest concern is the impact this could have on Leyton Orient, a club whose ground at Brisbane Road since 1937 is some 700 yards away from the Olympic Park.
In Section I of the Premier League's Rules as set out in the Premier League's 2010/11 Handbook, the following are extracts of the ground criteria:
"5. Each Club shall register its ground with the Secretary and no Club shall remove to another
ground without first obtaining the written consent of the Board, such consent not to be
unreasonably withheld.
6. In considering whether to give any such consent, the Board shall have regard to all the
circumstances of the case and shall not consent unless reasonably satisfied that such consent:
...
6.5 would not adversely affect Clubs (or Football League clubs) having their registered
grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location; and
6.6 would enhance the reputation of the League and promote the game of association
football generally."
Please could you set out:
I would be grateful to receive your response either by e-mail or to the address below, and I should advise that the content of this letter and your reply will be published on the LOFT website.
Yours sincerely,
Doug Harper
Chair
Leyton Orient Fans' Trust
Football League
To: Greg Clarke, Chairman.
Dear Mr Clarke,
The Leyton Orient Fans' Trust (LOFT) is an independent supporters' trust representing supporters of Leyton Orient Football Club. As you no doubt know, supporters' trusts are backed by Supporters Direct, the government-initiated organisation whose goal is to promote sustainable spectator sports clubs based on supporters' involvement & community ownership.
Our members, and the wider Leyton Orient supporter base, are very concerned at the decision of the Olympic Park Legacy Company to award West Ham United FC and Newham Council preferred bidder status for use of the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. Our deepest concern is the impact this could have on Leyton Orient, a club whose ground at Brisbane Road since 1937 is some 700 yards away from the Olympic Park.
At present, the decision to give consent to such a move is the responsibility of the Premier League. Please could you set out what steps you have taken, or plan to take, to represent a member club of the Football League and ensure that such a move does not have an adverse effect on Leyton Orient.
In the event that West Ham United are relegated to the Football League at the end of the current season, and do not gain promotion back to the Premier League by the time consent is sought, the responsibility to give consent falls to yourselves. In Section 4 of the Football League's Regulations as laid out on the Football League website, the following are extracts on 'Registration of Ground':
"13.6 Each Club shall register its ground with the Executive and no Club shall remove to another ground without first obtaining the written consent of the Board, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.
13.7 In considering whether to give any such consent, the Board shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and shall not grant consent unless it is reasonably satisfied that such consent:
...
13.7.5 would not adversely affect Clubs having their registered grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location; and
13.7.6 would enhance the reputation of The League and promote the game of association football generally."
Please could you set out how you would consider the case in such circumstances, in particular in respect of the effect on Leyton Orient.
I would be grateful to receive your response either by e-mail or to the address below, and I should advise that the content of this letter and your reply will be published on the LOFT website.
Yours sincerely,
Doug Harper
Chair
Leyton Orient Fans' Trust
Football Association
To: David Bernstein, Chairman
Dear Mr Bernstein,
The Leyton Orient Fans' Trust (LOFT) is an independent supporters' trust representing supporters of Leyton Orient Football Club. As you no doubt know, supporters' trusts are backed by Supporters Direct, the government-initiated organisation whose goal is to promote sustainable spectator sports clubs based on supporters' involvement & community ownership.
Our members, and the wider Leyton Orient supporter base, are very concerned at the decision of the Olympic Park Legacy Company to award West Ham United Football Club and Newham Council preferred bidder status for use of the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. Our deepest concern is the impact this could have on Leyton Orient, a club whose ground at Brisbane Road since 1937 is some 700 yards away from the Olympic Park.
A stated responsibility of the FA is "ensuring... that the rules and regulations concerned with running football in England are observed by officials".
Depending on which League West Ham are in at the time consent is sought, responsibility for giving consent to West Ham United to move to the Olympic Stadium will fall on the Premier League or Football League (the former if written consent has already been given). Both bodies' rules/regulations state: "in considering whether to give any such consent, the Board shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and shall not grant consent unless it is reasonably satisfied that such consent… would not adversely affect [Premier League or Football League] Clubs having their registered grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location".
Please set out how you have ensured, or intend to ensure, that the above rules/regulations have been or will be properly observed in respect of the effect on Leyton Orient.
I would be grateful to receive your written response, and I should advise that the content of this letter and your reply will be published on the LOFT website.
Yours sincerely,
Doug Harper
Chair
Leyton Orient Fans' Trust
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