Like most members of the Premier League and EFL, at Wolves we have a rich history spanning nearly 150 years.
At periods of that history, we were one of the most successful and decorated clubs in England, falling out of the country’s top three just once over a nine-year period and winning the league three times.
But at others we tumbled down the leagues, spending seasons in the second, third and fourth tiers, almost going out of existence on more than one occasion.
In sport, nothing is forever; champions come and go, dynasties disappear, sleeping giants awake and new challengers test the status quo. That is the beauty of sport, and what epitomises the beautiful game.
Football is about fight, competition, ups and downs. Uncertainty is there to be embraced, not to be protected from.
Unfortunately, a group of individuals, who own some of Europe’s proudest football clubs, have proven to the world that they are afraid of that uncertainty.
European football is the pinnacle of the domestic game, and the prize for success in leagues across Europe, with no limitations on who can qualify, as long as it is on sporting merit.
But these individuals have plotted and schemed to find a way to exist in a small and comfortable bubble, free from the challenge of fair competition. And now they have united the whole of the football world against them.
As a foreign owner, Fosun came to the UK in 2016 and embraced our club, our history and our supporters, but also the country and its proud traditions, one of which is the most historic football system in the world.
That sense of competition is what appealed most to Fosun then, and still just as strongly now. Our promotion and relegation systems, built on solid foundations of competition and fairness, create promise, ambition, success and failure – all of which are essential in the sport.
If you work hard enough and operate with greater intelligence and commitment than your competitors, you will be successful, you can challenge the top clubs and rise to their level through your own efforts, and that cannot change.
The plans for this breakaway league represent the complete opposite. They present values which contradict that of Wolves and Fosun tremendously, which is why Wolves would categorically reject any invitation of involvement in the future.
Regardless of the level this football club operates at, we will always require open competition, and condemn schemes which protect its clubs’ standings at the top of the game. That simply isn’t the football that attracted Fosun to a founder member of the Football League five years ago.
We must be clear that we do not condemn the clubs involved, nor their manager or players, but the people in charge who have undermined both us as a competitor and English football as a whole by making this decision.
We hope and believe the campaign will be withdrawn, but regardless expect English football to continue to prosper and evolve each year, while maintaining the entertainment and competitiveness it has held for more than 100 years.
As a club, we will continue to compete and represent our global fanbase with pride and passion, both on and off the pitch. The supporters are the lifeblood of this football club, and we take great pride in representing them every single day.
Fosun made a commitment in 2016 when they took over this historic football club and have displayed their dedication since, taking Wolves on a journey from the Championship to the Europa League – an example of the type of ascent which makes English football so special.
That commitment stands just as strong now, in 2021, as it did five years ago. Fosun remain completely devoted to Wolves and harbour the same sizeable ambitions, which they hope to achieve through a meticulous, long-term plan.
Ideally, that plan can be realised in the English football system as we know it, with the fairness of competition; but regardless, Wolves and the English football pyramid will prosper with or without those who are willing to destroy more than a century of tradition and bring our beloved game into disrepute.
