The Government has introduced what it calls a “strengthened” Football Governance Bill in the House of Lords, after the previous iteration of the Bill failed to be passed into law before the General Election.

We discussed the aims and contents of the Football Governance Bill as initially drafted here. It establishes an Independent Football Regulator (“IFR”) for the first time in English men’s elite football which would be charged with three primary objectives: (1) protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of individual clubs; (2) improving the “systemic financial resilience” of English football through the management of “systemic risks and structural issues” such as the distribution of revenue through the so-called ‘pyramid’; and (3) safeguarding the “traditional features of English football that matter most to the fans and local communities of clubs”.

The IFR would also be responsible for administering a licensing system under which all the top five tiers of men’s English football would operate. In so doing, it would be empowered, for example, to require prospective owners and directors of clubs to pass a series of tests to demonstrate their suitability as custodians of clubs, and to prevent English clubs from joining breakaway competitions such as the European Super League. Additionally, it would oversee the financial plans of clubs and be able to intervene if there are worrying levels of financial risk, placing bespoke conditions on clubs where necessary. Intervention may also occur in the event of agreement not being reached on the distribution of broadcast revenue, subject to certain thresholds being met.

The revised Bill includes what the Government describes as “major changes”, including that:

1. The IFR will now explicitly require clubs to provide ‘effective engagement’ with their supporters on ticket prices as well as any proposals to relocate the club’s home ground;
2. So-called ‘parachute payments’ – payments made by the Premier League to relegated clubs to help them adapt to the reduction in revenue suffered as a result of relegation to the Championship – can be taken into account, and assessed, by the IFR if it considers them to be of systemic risk to financial sustainability. This reverses a carve out in the previous draft of the Bill for parachute payments, and the Government explains that “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”.
3. The IFR will no longer be required to consider government foreign and trade policy when approving club takeovers, meaning that it can be, according to the Government, “fully independent of government and industry”.
4. The IFR will be empowered to “compel clubs to democratically select the fan representatives the club must engage with, rather than clubs making a unilateral decision”.
5. Clubs will be required to publish what action they are taking on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Bill will receive its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 13 November 2024, and can be read in full here.