John van Zweden owns a wallpapering business in the Netherlands. He’s also a die-hard football fan, whose favourite team happens to be in Wales: Swansea City. Photos below.

When the team was facing bankruptcy, a friend asked John to chip in 50,000 pounds to buy the club. And he did - without telling his wife. John tells The State We're In about his unlikely odyssey from football fan to football executive.
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Swansea City AFC currently play in the Premier League, the most expensive football league in the world and are worth around 60 million pounds. But the club's prospects didn't always look this rosy. Back in 2002, Swansea City was at the bottom of the Football League and on the brink of bankruptcy.

Pen pals
On his 16th birthday, John was taken by his father to see London side Fulham play at home to Swansea, who at the time were at the bottom of the Second Division. His father taught him to always root for the underdog, so he felt obliged to support Swansea.

Back at school in The Hague, a teacher suggested that John's English class find pen pals to improve their language skills. So he wrote a letter to Swansea City, which was printed in the matchday programme. John got a reply from a young football fan, David and they became firm friends and devotees of Swansea City.

By 2002, Swansea were in a bad state. The previous year, they had been relegated to the Third Division and sold to a consortium of Australian businessmen. Players were sacked, fans became disillusioned and the club was threatened with sanctions by the Football League.

Rescue plan
By now John's pen pal friend David had formulated a rescue plan: he wanted to see the club bought back and owned by genuine fans. A group of five individuals were approached to invest 50,000 pounds each to create the Swansea City Supporters' Trust. But at the last moment, one investor pulled out. The takeover bid was short by 50,000 pounds.

The day before the buy-out was due to go to court, John received a phone call from David. He wanted to know if John would become the final investor and save the club. John knew what he had to do.

He slipped out of his home in The Hague and made a trip to the bank. That evening, he was in Swansea for the court case with a cheque in his hand. With help from Swansea council, the group saved the club and walked out of the courtroom to a cheering crowd.

Swansea City had become the first UK club to be solely controlled by fans. In the next match against Manchester City, John was there not just as a fan, but as a director.

Promotion
The club slowly climbed its way back up the league tables and in 2005, 'The Swans' got a new home: the Liberty Stadium. By 2011, Swansea City had become the first Welsh club ever to be promoted to the Premier League.

John van Zweden found himself entering the executive rooms of some of the most prestigious and expensive football clubs in the world: Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea. It was quite different from what he was used to at Swansea’s old ground at Vetch Field, where peeling paint was a common sight.

Proud
Nowadays, Swansea City is worth millions of pounds. But John van Zweden and his fellow owners of Swansea City are a long way from selling. John's proud to say they are one of the few clubs in the Premier League that is not in debt. The club doesn't buy players it can’t afford and the co-owners pay their own way: from hotels to flights down to season tickets.
 
So, if he had to do it all again, would he still take the risk? Of course, he says. "It’s your football team, it’s a part of your life."

Taken from the latest edition of The State We're In - Betrayal.