Ruud Van de Graaf is the founder of the Fan Owned Football Community group on Facebook and follows FC United from his home in the Hague. He recently participated in an interview with our website about fan ownership in football

1. When did you become interested in the topic of fan ownership in football?
About 12 years ago there was a documentary on Dutch TV about some Manchester United Fans having started their own club in response to the Glazer takeover, but it was also due to the general feeling of not being treated as fans, but as customers. At that moment I was on my way out of professional football. My local club was playing on artificial grass, on any day of the week for commercial TV and I felt estranged from money football. So I decided to visit FC United's website and follow the club in general. I found what I knew I had been looking for: passion, principles, pure love of the game and community work. Two years later I flew to Manchester to watch a game against Stamford AFC at Gigg Lane. From then on I was hooked on fan-owned football. I got to know more people at FC United, tried to visit at least once a year, started The Fanowned Football Community and Fanowned Football on Facebook and running the FC United International Branch page. I have even managed to bring some friends along to the annual game and we also have become annual visitors to YB SK Beveren, which is an hour and half’'s drive from our hometown.

2. What is it that you think fan ownership brings to football?
Fan-owned football brings a sense of belonging that top flight football has largely lost. Since it's literally your team that's playing there is never any booing, just love and support. The atmosphere at games is very relaxed, with a beer, and singing. Moreover, fan-owned football keeps its contact with the community in many ways. We have unlearned to do things in common and fan owned football brings back that sense of community.

3. What motivated you to create the Fan Owned Football Community group on Facebook?
Since I couldn't do much for FC United of Manchester aside from being a member and following them online, I decided to try and promote worldwide fan-owned football. It has brought me great satisfaction and a lot of surprises, like fan owned football in Korea and Zanzibar, just to name some unexpected places. Also it has got me into contact with people from all kinds of clubs with their own issues and philosophy. Those I have met in real life, e.g. at the Supporters Direct meeting in Beveren, very much appreciated the group, which gave me a boost gain, because sometimes it's not easy to keep up the spirit when you have to provide so much of the material yourself.

4. What is it like following FC United from the Netherlands?
It's frustrating on the one hand but great fun as well. I follow all the FC United teams, like women and youth, because as a fan-owned club it's not just about the first team. FC has a tremendous radio crew, with Swampy as leading star, but often I find it too nerve-wracking to listen in, so I use Twitter and match stats. Through the International Branch and the FC United Facebook group I still feel involved, although obviously not as much as I would like to be.

5. If you could change one thing about football today, what would it be and why?
The Champions League. It creates an exclusivity that makes people, especially young people, only focus on that. My students - I teach at a large inner-city comprehensive - only know football from TV, and it's all Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus for them. They never visit our local pro team, let alone non- league. They act as customers, not surprisingly. That's even more annoying than the ridiculous transfer fees and wages that players receive.

Photo: Ruud Van de Graaf (on the right) visiting to FC United