Hearts: Fan ownership, Tony Bloom and upsetting the Old Firm status quo
A decade ago Leicester City beat odds of 5000/1 to win the Premier League. Hearts could replicate that level of upset on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.
Because for the first time since 1985 one of Rangers or Celtic may not lift the title. Forty years ago it was Aberdeen under Sir Alex Ferguson, this weekend it could be Heart of Midlothian FC under Derek McInnes.
And it could come less than a year after Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom purchased a 29 per cent non-voting stake in Hearts for just shy of £10m.
Bloom has been credited for running a Premier League club sustainably, something many other owners in England’s top flight cannot lay claim to.
But a victory this weekend for Hearts would, genuinely, be a victory for fans with the Foundation of Hearts fan-owned group controlling over 75 per cent of the voting rights at Tynecastle Park.
“It would be nice if it was not the Old Firm duo yet again, it would be good for Scottish football more broadly. Unpredictability sells, after all,” Professor Rob Wilson told City PM.
“Hearts and Tony Bloom is exactly the sort of model that keeps football interesting. It’s ambitious, community-rooted, and trying to challenge the assumption that only the biggest budgets can win silverware.
“Fan-owned clubs succeeding against the odds tend to work because they build trust, patience and a real connection with supporters, which can be a competitive edge in itself.
“It’s not easy, of course, but definitely compelling. And when you say ‘against all odds’, these odds are massive as fan-ownership has rarely delivered trophy success.”
Hearts winning regardless
Hearts have not won a trophy since the 2011-12 Scottish Cup and last won the top flight north of the border in 1960.
But even if the Jam Tarts are pipped to the title on Saturday by Celtic, they’ve already won something. Because Hearts, by finishing either first or second, have secured a spot in the qualifying stages of the Champions League.
Should they win the league they will enter the play-off round – with the likes of AEK Athens and Viking – while second will see them enter in the second qualifying round with the likes of Bodo/Glimt and Fenerbahce.
Qualification to the main tournament would bag Hearts £17.5m before they’ve even kicked a ball in a group game. To put that into context, Hearts posted 2024-25 season turnover of £24.4m. Celtic, for the same period, posted a record £143.6m.
There is everything at stake this weekend in the Scottish Premiership, but Hearts – win or lose – is a reminder that there remains a place for fan-owned teams at the highest level of football. And for Bloom – who has Hearts in the Champions League qualifiers, Brighton chasing European football and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise chasing the Belgian Pro League – it is a case of enshrining his name among a select list of very shrewd and successful football investors.