One of the reasons we started Proper Football just over 18 months ago was because some of us had become disillusioned with football, yes, that may seem a bizarre thing to say and beggars the question, why set up a football page?
Well, for those of us who follow teams in the Premier League or a yo-yo side in the Championship, since the birth of the Premier League on 27th May 1992 we have gradually seen our clubs which we have worshiped like a religion and have played a massive role in our lives become like an old friend who has drifted away and you just don't recognise them anymore.
We feel no connection to our clubs or a sense of belonging or feeling part of a bigger family, a complete disconnect from the players and boardrooms.
Yes, we know not all clubs are like this, but they are a minority and many fans will see or feel it differently from us and we won't knock them for that, but just as many of us feel like we're customers supporting a brand in this corporate money-driven world we live in.
Extortionate ticket prices, overpriced food and drink, 3 football kits that change every year, ridiculous kickoff times often changed at short notice to satisfy foreign TV audiences, overinflated player wages, football tourists sitting in silence with half-n half scarves, the new breed of johnny come lately fans who want instant success and are calling for the managers heads after one bad performance and overzealous rules that sanitise the atmosphere and the passion.
Some will call us dinosaurs that are stuck in a time warp and say we should move with the times, but some of them weren't going to the match pre-1992 when yes, football did actually exist!
We acknowledge that modern football with the influx of TV money has seen the birth of state-of-the-art stadiums and good facilities and it could be said better quality players and a more exciting top division but that is up for debate, but the old saying of ‘football is nothing without fans' is that really true anymore?
Covid affected many clubs especially those down the Pyramid but it proved one thing, the Premier League doesn't have to rely on bums on seats, because one of their biggest incomes and growing markets is the TV revenue from around the world, it was recently announced for the first time in its history that the Premier League is set to earn more revenue from international, rather than domestic, broadcast rights!
Don't even get us started on the foreign investors buying up our clubs and servicing the debt against said club, or state-owned country's sports washing to promote themselves, or owners who have no clue about our football culture and just see the golden egg and the cash cow the Premier League dangles.
The reason we set up Proper Football was not just to highlight the aforementioned issues but to also promote the many good things still in the game, the fantastic work clubs do in the communities, the great followings from teams in the EFL and the unsung heroes behind the scenes, and that brings us to Non-League football.
We've come across many fans on our Live shows, social media platforms and when we've been on the road to do our away day Vlogs at non-league grounds, and the conversation is always the same.
“Love it down here" “had enough of the Premier League" “bring my kids down here every week, they love it”
“You feel part of the club" "You can have a beer and watch the game”
“it's affordable and you're putting money back into the local community”
“got fed up with all the plastics and paying a fortune watching overpaid prima donnas” “all they care about is the corporate prawn sandwich brigade” “stewards telling you to sit down every couple of minutes” we could go on...
The stats do back up that more people are going to non-league games now from steps 1 to 4 with an increase of 43% since 2011/12.
It must be said we are not naive to the fact that there are some unscrupulous owners and some player's wages are overinflated at certain levels of non-league football and that the National League has many full-time playing staff so clearly money does play a big factor, but one thing is for sure, Non-League football is on the up and many fans are starting to fall back in love with our beautiful game.
This article is not a dig at fans who follow their Premier League and Championship teams up and down the country week in and week out, in fact, we applaud them and doff our caps because at the end of the day, we all love the same game and share a passion, but some of us have found new friends and a place where we feel part of something again.
Here's one of our Awayday Vlogs on our YouTube Channel.
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