Cambridge United has been named as the EFL’s best-run Club in the Fair Game Index, the most comprehensive survey of the football pyramid...
Fair Game ranked every Club on the four criteria set out in the Fan-Led Review: financial stability; good governance; fan engagement; and equality standards. A team of academics, accountants and analysts looked at more than 200 data points to reach their conclusions.
Cambridge United’s score of 60.3 put it at the top of all 164 EFL and National League Clubs and third in the entire pyramid, behind only Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
The U's ranked strongest for financial sustainability, being placed second in the EFL. This is a significant turn-around after the Club sold its stadium in 2004, was forced to the brink of administration in 2005 and fell out of the Football League for nine years, largely because of financial problems.
Following a major change programme over recent years, the Club is now starting its fourth consecutive season in League One, owns the Cledara Abbey Stadium and has built a new training ground facility.
The Club also scored highly on fan and community engagement, ranking 7th in the EFL, reflecting its early adoption of the Fan Advisory Board model. A recent example of this in practice is the Club's Crest Consultation period, where fans have played a major role in United's change of Crest process.
The U’s were also ranked in the EFL’s top 10 for good governance and EDI.
CEO Alex Tunbridge said, “We are very proud to have been recognised by the Fair Game Index as the best-run Club in the EFL. It is recognition of the hard work by countless people at every level of the Club over recent years: Owners, Board, staff and volunteers at every level of the Club.
"We are ambitious and like every Club we want to win, but at the same time we are trying to be as competitive as possible whilst staying true to our values and principles - living within our means, doing what we can to put supporters first and playing an active part in the wider community of Cambridge.
"We are trying to raise our level in every area of the Club on and off the pitch and we all know there is a lot more hard work ahead. It is getting much tougher to compete financially at every level of the game, but we are determined to keep modernising and developing the Club in a sustainable way. Cambridge is a special, thriving, fast-growing city and we want to play the fullest part we can in its future success story”.
Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, added, "The Fair Game Index is the most comprehensive measure of how well run a football Club is. And Cambridge United is an exemplar of what an extremely well-run football club should be.
"They are financially sustainable, have good governance in place, together with strong fan and community engagement and an enlightened approach to EDI. So, it is no surprise that they come top not just in League One but across the whole of the EFL.
They deserve huge credit for the hard work and way they have turned the club around in recent years. Cambridge is exactly the sort of Club that football should be encouraging others to emulate. The new regulator should use football's financial flow to reward well-run clubs.
"Any business looking to invest in a Club, or partner with them as a sponsor, should be attracted by their credentials and the fact they are trying to do things the right way."
Read more about Fair Game by clicking here.