Featured image credit: Terrace Grain on Unsplash
The UK government will today (Thursday) introduce a new Football Governance Bill in the House of Lords, with an independent regulator to require clubs to provide “effective engagement” with supporters on any proposals to relocate their home stadium.
The Conservative government first announced plans to introduce a Football Governance Bill, and form an independent regulator for the professional men’s game in England, back in March. The new Labour government has now detailed plans for a “strengthened” bill.
The new bill will establish an independent regulator and a new set of rules to protect clubs, tackle “rogue owners and directors”, and implement a club licensing regime to ensure a more consistent approach in how clubs are run. The regulator will also monitor club finances and seek to improve fan engagement throughout the football pyramid.
From a stadium perspective, a key change from the previous draft of the Football Governance Bill will see the regulator explicitly require clubs to provide effective engagement with their fans on any proposals to move to a new stadium.
Prior to the publication of the government’s statement yesterday (Thursday) evening, it was reported by The Guardian that the regulator would have the power to prevent Premier League clubs from selling their stadiums to related or third-party companies.
Such sales are prohibited by the English Football League (EFL), and a previous attempt by the Premier League to close the loophole did not receive the necessary backing from clubs. The regulator is now set to have the power to stop top-flight clubs from carrying out such deals.
Another change to the bill will require clubs to engage with supporters on changes to ticket prices, while the singular carve out of parachute payments in the previous draft of the bill has been dropped. The regulator will now be given the remit to include parachute payments, through the backstop mechanism, when assessing finances across the game.
In a statement, the government said excluding these payments would have “significantly reduced” the ability of the regulator to take a full view of financial stability and resilience across the football pyramid.
The regulator will also no longer be required to consider government foreign and trade policy when approving club takeovers, while it will have the power to compel clubs to democratically select fan representatives the club must engage with, rather than clubs making a unilateral decision.
There is also a clear commitment to improve equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the game, as clubs will be required to be transparent and publish what action they are taking as part of reporting against a new football club corporate governance code.
In a statement, the Premier League said that while it recognises that “key elements” of the bill can make English football stronger, it is concerned about the regulatory framework. The Premier League said the “rigid banking-style regulation” and the regulator’s “unprecedented and untested powers” to intervene in the distribution of the league’s revenues could have a negative impact on the league’s competitiveness.
The EFL said it will take time to scrutinise the detail and implications of the bill, including the “key issue” around the regulator’s backstop powers relating to financial distribution.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “English football is one of our greatest exports and a source of national pride which this government wants to see thrive for generations to come. But for too long, financial instability has meant loyal fans and whole communities have risked losing their cherished clubs as a result of mismanagement and reckless spending. This bill seeks to properly redress the balance, putting fans back at the heart of the game, taking on rogue owners and crucially helping to put clubs up and down the country on a sound financial footing.”
Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters Association, added: “Earlier this year 200+ supporters’ groups signed an FSA open letter calling on all parties to get behind a new Football Governance Bill – we’re very pleased the government has listened and look forward to working with Parliamentarians to ensure the Bill delivers upon its promise.
“The FSA was at the heart of 2021’s fan-led review of football governance which made a range of recommendations to strengthen the game’s governance – most notably the commitment to introduce an independent regulator. The regulator has the potential to protect our historic community clubs and stop the being run into the ground by bad owners, rebalance the game’s finances, protect the heritage of all clubs, give supporters a bigger say in the running of the game and block any domestic clubs from joining a breakaway European Super League. The FSA wholeheartedly backs its creation.”
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