Mayor of Saint-Etienne and President of Saint-Etienne Métropole from 2008 to 2014, Maurice Vincent is above all a big fan of AS Saint-Etienne. It is now as a former elected and real supporter of the Greens that he observes the difficulties currently going through by his club at heart. In an exclusive interview with Ecofoot, Maurice Vincent uses his experience as mayor to define the relationships that communities must maintain with a professional football club. Particularly during a period of change of shareholder (s).
AS Saint-Etienne is a club with a huge influence on its city. Its destiny does not concern exclusively its owners. Should local communities seek to get involved in the club’s sales process?
It is true that the future of the club concerns the whole city and even the region. But the undivided and globalized financialization that has reigned over football for the past fifteen years makes it almost impossible for communities to really intervene in a sales process.
From there, elected officials can always express themselves in the press or make wishes, but given the amounts reached, the only decision-makers remain the shareholders – with the exception of course of bankruptcy or the massive devaluation of the club.
What levers are available to the City of Saint-Etienne and Saint-Etienne Métropole to make their voices heard in this sales process?
The fact that in certain cases the communities still own the stadiums may give them a certain right of scrutiny. We find ourselves in this scenario in Saint-Etienne since the Geoffroy Guichard stadium remained the property of the Metropolis during its renovation under my mandate.
However, even with ownership of the stadium, it is difficult to see how elected officials could refuse to rent Geoffroy Guichard to a buyer who would have had the shareholders’ agreement – except in a situation of obvious fraud or embezzlement.
Should Saint-Etienne Métropole require guarantees from the future purchaser of ASSE regarding the payment of rents for the operation of the Geoffroy Guichard stadium?
