Football Manager

As a gamer, one of the most common questions I come across from non-gamers is stuff like, "Why do you play video games? Why not go out and play football instead of sitting at home playing Fifa 08?".

My response is generally that video games let me do stuff I can't do in real life. For example, those of you who read my gaming blog will know that I spend a lot of time on a game called Football Manager. This game lets me be the manager of a football club (this message brought to you by Captain Obvious). As manager, I get to make all the big decisions as I try and take my chosen club to league and cup glory.

I mean, its not like I could do this in real life. Right? Right??

Well, actually, I can.

It turns out that, for the low low price of GBP35, I can buy my own share of Ebbsfleet United. Go ahead and check out the link. And before you ask - yes, Ebbsfleet United FC are a real football team (in fact, they will be playing at Wembley in May) and, as far as I can tell, this appears to be genuine.

What happened was that a bloke called Will Brooks, a soccer journalist apparently, decided to run a unique experiment. By raising funds from the public, he was able to buy controlling interest in EUFC (my understanding is that this was done in agreement with EUFC and was not a hostile "takeover"). In effect, the community has purchased EUFC as everyone who paid the membership fee of GBP35 is considered a part owner.

For the price of GBP35 (per year, I should add), you get to vote on the players which will play. Each part owner gets 1 vote and the actual team for any particular game will be based on the players who get the most votes. In addition, members will also be able to vote on accepting or vetoing transfers.

Although I say you are part owner, that strictly isn't true as you will never get your money back. Its probably more accurate to say that you are a member. This is probably a good thing though as it means more money is pumped into the club for development.

All in all, this looks like a fascinating experience. I haven't joined (its almost the end of the season) - but I am considering it for next season!