Football clubs urge Government not to delay over plans for independent regulator

An independent regulator was the central recommendation of the fan-led review, which the Government commissioned last year.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has been urged to press ahead with plans to create an independent football regulator (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

Twenty-nine clubs have written to the Government urging it to press ahead with plans for an independent regulator, warning inaction would lead to clubs being “wiped off the map”.

An independent regulator was the central recommendation of the fan-led review, which was commissioned by the Government last year in the wake of the European Super League scandal.

A White Paper setting out the regulator’s scope had initially been due for publication in the summer, but there have been three Prime Ministers since that timetable was first set out and the upheaval has led to delays and uncertainty.

It was even reported that Liz Truss, who resigned as Prime Minister on October 20 having taken on the leadership of the party in September, had been preparing to abandon plans for a regulator altogether.

Her successor, Rishi Sunak, publicly committed himself to implementing all 10 recommendations of the fan-led review during the Conservative leadership contest in the summer. Now, a group of clubs from across the football pyramid, including 15 from Leagues One and Two, have called upon his Government to make good on that pledge.

“Football clubs are at the heart of our communities, with numerous local businesses dependent on them. Inaction now could lead directly to clubs being wiped off the map and local economies and communities being devastated,” the letter to Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan stated.

The letter, co-ordinated by football reform campaign group Fair Game, noted Donelan’s speech to the Conservative Party conference in September where she recognised the impact of clubs within her constituency and how she could not be happier to serve as Secretary of State in charge of sport at a time when “British sporting excellence is all around us”.

The pandemic has left clubs on their knees and the cost-of-living crisis threatens to deliver a knockout blow

Clubs' letter to Culture Secretary

“You are right football is incredible, but all those great things you mentioned are at risk,” the letter continued.

“Football is at a crossroads and the future of the game hangs in the balance.

“We have seen over a third of clubs go into administration since the turn of the century. And in 2020, 52 per cent of clubs were technically insolvent. Since then the pandemic has left clubs on their knees and the cost-of-living crisis threatens to deliver a knockout blow.

“To save football we need the independent regulator. Any further delay is simply not in the wider interests of football – and crucially the communities they serve.

“We await the White Paper on football governance with interest and we implore you to commit to immediate legislation for a regulator in the next King’s Speech.”