Delia Smith has revealed how the 'pain' of Norwich City being in debt led to their self-sustainable approach to football ownership.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New Statesman surrounding her recently released book on spirituality, Smith reflected on her love of football and ownership of Norwich City.
Smith and Michael Wynn Jones have owned the Canaries since November 1996 and recently celebrated their 25th anniversary at the helm of the club.
The pair spend more time at Carrow Road now than at any point during their ownership at the club for meetings, events and cooking courses. All of this is designed to provide an extra revenue stream.
Even now, they are present at the vast majority of fixtures both home and away often travelling hundreds of miles to watch Norwich in action every weekend.
One of their biggest aims is to prevent the club from going into debt. Those tasked with the day to day operations at the club are tasked with it ensuring it remains self-sustainable.
"We’ve been through a lot of pain in our time at Norwich, being in debt," Smith said. "Going to a board meeting, all you talk about is how to service the debt. Never-ending debt…”
During the interview, in which she describes herself and Wynn Jones as being 'too old for money', she reveals that her finances away from football will be left to the International Rescue Committee, the humanitarian aid organisation headed by former Labour MP David Miliband.
Smith discussed how she processes and deals with the emotional chaos of owning a Premier League football club.
“I’ve learned,” Smith said. “I feel disappointed and I feel hurt, and sometimes I feel angry, if it’s the referee’s fault.”
She is inevitably asked about her future plans at Norwich and whether she would be open to selling to a wealthy benefactor should one arrive and express their interest in owning the club.
The topic is particularly pertinent at present given the scrutiny around Roman Abramovich's involvement at Chelsea and the ownership at other clubs including Newcastle United and Manchester City.
It is often a criticism of Smith and Wynn Jones, especially in seasons in the Premier League that end in relegation.
If an investor came in and made a serious proposal to own Norwich, then Smith would look to put it to a vote to supporters, as she has said in previous interviews when asked about this particular subject.
“Well, you can never say never," she said. "We get criticism, you know, when things aren’t going well: ‘They should give up now, let us have a nice rich whatever.’ But I wouldn’t be able to do it without being sanctioned by the supporters. Because I wouldn’t like to go to bed at night and know I’d given it to the wrong ones, and there’s a lot of very, very wrong ones in football.”
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