Government finally steps in after football proves it cannot run itself

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that a white paper endorsing the findings of Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review will be published this summer, writes Tony Evans

The failed European Super League venture has helped spark change (Getty)

The Football Association still believes that it can fulfil the role of the game’s independent regulator even as the government takes the next step to establish a new framework of governance for the sport.

Last year, Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review made 10 recommendations aimed at improving football and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that a white paper endorsing the findings will be published this summer. This is the first step towards pushing legislation through Parliament.

The main proposal in the review was the introduction of a regulator with the ability to sanction teams that break financial rules and the powers to protect the identity and sustainability of clubs. The FA’s conviction that it can remain as the primary ruling body emanates from the government’s position that the problems highlighted in Crouch’s review should be “solved by the football authorities in the first instance”. A source close to the situation last night described the FA’s position as “delusional”.

The regulator will also have the capability to implement an “enhanced” owners’ and directors’ test across the game. The acquisition of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the sanctioning of Roman Abramovich and the subsequent sale of Chelsea have shown the importance of tighter scrutiny of potential owners. The government announcement is short on detail about how a stricter test would be applied but says the integrity appraisal would exist on an “ongoing basis”.

This will ring alarm bells at the Premier League. The top-flight’s ruling body is stridently against regulation. The organisation engaged Helen MacNamara, who was director general for propriety and ethics at the Cabinet Office from 2018 to 2020, to help plead its case to Downing Street. MacNamara was one of the first officials to be given a fixed penalty fine in the Partygate scandal and has been unable to influence policy makers. Last month she told a DCMS committee that the Premier League was “definitely” against a regulator.

The English Football League, by contrast, is happy with developments. Rick Parry, the chairman, was one of the driving forces behind Project Big Picture, the plan to redistribute wealth across the pyramid. That initiative failed but financial distribution and solidarity payments are slated to come under the microscope of the regulator if the game cannot sort itself out.

The white paper will also address the involvement of supporters in the future of clubs. One of the proposals is for a “shadow board” to give fans a voice in the running of the business. A “golden share” is likely to be introduced, ensuring that any changes to kits, badges and stadiums are acceptable to a fanbase to protect the position of clubs as community assets.

One senior football administrator said last night that “you’d expect more substance”, given that Crouch’s review was published last year. What constitutes a potentially “unscrupulous” owner is open to question.

Despite the FA’s belief that it can fulfil the government’s role, a completely new regulatory entity is the likeliest outcome. The failed European Super League venture – following on from the Project Big Picture furore – has convinced Whitehall that football cannot adequately run itself.

The attempts by the game’s competing bodies to come to a reasonable revenue-sharing compromise have failed. There has been little or no progress on a more equitable financial landscape since the collapse of the Super League enterprise last year. There is scant confidence in the political arena that football can get its house in order. The small positive the Premier League can take from this latest announcement is that it offers a last chance for them to drive a fairer redistribution of wealth. The gap between the stance of the top-flight clubs and those of the EFL may be too wide to bridge, though.

The government also said it was planning a review of the women’s game with the intention of widening its appeal. The findings are scheduled to be made public by the end of the year.