Nashville FC is owned and controlled by its supporters, who vote on every club decision. All of the supporters (including Jones) purchase the right to participate; it's a non-profit organization, and all the funds raised from membership fees go to build the club. There are teams like this, of various shapes and sizes, in many other countries. There is nothing quite like it in American soccer, which means that the future of Nashville FC is also the future of an idea—that something other than the top-down sports ownership model can work in the United States.
Jones believes Nashville FC's model can work, and has ever since he...well, since he watched a video on YouTube. "Silly as it sounds," Jones laughs, "I came across a video of FC United of Manchester. And it really resonated with me, how a group of fans can walk away from a team [that] is so well-known, as well-established as Manchester United, [and start] from the ground up."
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