The Fair Game Index is a study that looks at several key components in running a football club and uses them to determine how well a team is being run. The key areas analysed are financial sustainability, good governance, equality standards and fan & community engagement. Using those, they’ve ranked every club from the Premier League down to National League North and South on how well they’re currently being run. Let’s take a look at the very interesting results.
The rankings per division have been taken from what league every team competed in during the 2023/2024 season.
Premier League
Manchester United are second
According to the study, Tottenham Hotspur are currently the best run team in all of England’s top seven leagues. Daniel Levy’s side may not have won anything in quite some time, but they’re doing a good job in all other accounts. Manchester United are second, which many of the club’s fans might find hard to believe considering the issues they’ve had recently. The Red Devils have had to deal with leaks in the stadium and mice infestation during the 2024/25 campaign, so expect next year’s result to look somewhat different.
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Norwich City are first
Despite being in the Championship, Norwich City and Swansea City are the fifth and sixth best run teams in the country. They’re also the top two sides in the second tier, with Plymouth Argyle one spot below them despite Wayne Rooney’s recent struggles at the club. In the entirety of the Championship, only those three make it into the top 20 across the country.
League One
Cambridge United are third overall
Considering how abysmal the last few years have been for Reading, it’s no surprise to see the Royals ranked dead last out of the League One teams and 100th overall in the country.
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League Two
Notts County are only 22nd
Moving onto League Two, only two teams are in the top 20, with AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green Rovers coming in at 8th and 14th overall. The latter has earned a solid reputation for their excellent work building an environmentally friendly club, but they weren’t as successful on the pitch, suffering relegation to the National League last time out and seeing four managers take charge over the course of the campaign, including Troy Deeney. They currently sit third in the National League, two points off of the top spot.
National League
York City are first
