MPs will discuss whether football fans should be given more of a say in how their clubs are run.

The 30-minute debate on football governance will see Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden Siobhain McDonagh use her own club, fan-owned AFC Wimbledon, as an example of one way forward for the game.

She will urge MPs to back proposals put forward by a campaign group, Supporters Direct, for fans to be given formal representation in their clubs' governance as part of licensing conditions.

The AGM of NUST took place on Tuesday 24th January at Newcastle Lit & Phil which is next to the Central Station. Our Chairman Norman Watson gave a report on the previous year and we have pulled together this overview of both the past year and the Chair’s report.

This was the second NUST annual general meeting. Norman was appointed Chair of the Trust shortly before the first AGM which took place in January 2011, having been elected to the Board following the initial election of Board Members.

Norman has extensive background in the Co-op and Financial Sector, specialising in the transfer of companies from owners to staff. In that respect he has recently been appointed to the Board of the Co-Op North East Region.

The Chairman’s report centres on NUST activity since the previous report submitted to the AGM on 31st January 2011.

Read the Chair's report here

• Governing body will defend in court any penalties challenged

• Clubs could be excluded from Champions League

Uefa has said it will defend in court any penalties imposed on clubs which breach its financial fair play rules, including most seriously the possibility of clubs being excluded from the Champions League.

After European football's governing body released a report showing clubs across Europe's top divisions lost a total of €1.6bn (£1.34bn) in 2009-10, Alasdair Bell, its director of legal affairs, was emphatic that the rules, which require loss-making clubs to move towards breaking even, comply with European law and will be upheld if challenged by clubs.

Governing body says game has struggled to manage its commercial bonanza

In this first qualifying year of "financial fair play" Uefa, the European governing body, spent a day at its Lake Geneva headquarters setting out its seriousness about the rules, which will be enforced for the first time in the 2014-15 season. Gianni Infantino, Uefa's general-secretary, spelled out the belief that the rules will protect the financial health of a game struggling to manage its commercial bonanza. Uefa's most senior lawyer, Alasdair Bell, emphasised that sanctions for clubs in breach, including, ultimately, exclusion from European competition, must be tough enough to force clubs to comply.

Nyon, Switzerland - Europe's top football clubs collectively lost more than €1.6 billion ($2 billion) in 2010 and their debts are still rising despite the imminent arrival of sanctions for overspending.

With wealthy owners keen to buy success by pumping massive amounts into buying top players, accounts from 665 clubs reveal 56 per cent lost money in the 2010 financial year, and their total debt was €8.4 billion ($10.9 billion).

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said it was "a last wake-up call" for clubs, who have been subject to UEFA's financial fair play monitoring since July 2011.

Top-flight clubs across Europe recorded net losses of €1.6 billion in 2010, a €400m increase on the previous season, and registered total debts of €8.4bn Uefa have announced.

The 30 per cent increase in losses across the continent underline the importance of imposing new ‘Financial Fair Play’ (FFP) rules to prevent a financial crisis in the game, according to Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino.

Revealing the figures at Uefa headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Infantino said the figures were a “wake-up call” for European club football.

Alan Pardew believes UEFA’s controversial financial fair play rules will “level the playing field” and allow Newcastle United to challenge the Premier League’s moneyed elite.

The United board took the decision after relegation to rein in their spending and, while it has not always been a popular ploy, their elevated league position and astute recruitment in the interim has won supporters over to their way of thinking.

From 2014/5 top clubs will be banned from European competition if they do not limit their losses – and UEFA used a media day in Switzerland this week to hammer home the point there will be no exceptions.

At 6pm this Thursday, AFC Wimbledon supporter Siobhain McDonagh MP will have a 30 minute Parliamentary debate in the House of Commons on: “Government policy on football governance and the case of AFC Wimbledon”.

The debate is relevant at a time of historic opportunity for change in football. The authorities have in front of them the chance to adopt changes that could make shameful episodes like that of the franchising of Wimbledon FC’s league place, and the current crises engulfing Darlington and Portsmouth and over fifty other clubs since 1992, a thing of the past.

City council bosses have said they will be appealing to the media to continue to refer to the Newcastle United ground as St James' Park.

In November it was announced the ground was being renamed Sports Direct Arena, after owner Mike Ashley's company.

Many fans reacted angrily but the club said it was a prelude to securing a new global sponsor.

Councillors agreed to write to media outlets "respectfully requesting" them not to use the new name.

The FA has released a new report, undertaken by Deloitte, which highlighted the financial impact of the FA Cup to participating clubs.

The findings show that a total of almost £650m was generated in prize money, TV payments and gate receipts for participating clubs in the 10 years between 2001/02 and 2010/11. FA Secretary Alex Horne was keen to point out the cash windfall that the Cup provides has an impact for teams at all levels.