[Football] The Football Governance Bill

[Zeberdi]

Government has confirmed that an Independent regulator will be created

Bold plan to protect long-term future of English football

Football fans and their clubs will be given greater protections under a radical transformation of the rules governing how football is run in England

www.gov.uk

EDIT Just to point out - Full outline of proposals of White Paper and background is in the Government Press Release that I posted above when starting the thread - no paywall required!

UK government announces independent regulator for English football

The UK government has announced its plans to have an independent regulator for English football ahead of tomorrow’s release of the white paper on the game’s governance. The independent regulator will cover the top five tiers of men’s football, with a parallel review of the women’s game underway...

theathletic.com

Not holding out much hope that a lot will change tbh

 

[Cotton Socks]

Will this 'Bold plan' be before or after the 'big' clubs have all been bought by people that most of us would prefer had nothing to do with the PL due to their actions when it comes to human rights?

 

[lasvegan]

To be honest, I generally worry about government involvement in anything…

 

[Guinness Boy]

To be honest, I generally worry about government involvement in anything…

Here’s the BBC story (Athletic is paywalled / subscription, no idea why the OP picked that to share).

Football regulator: UK government confirms new independent body
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64536218

Here are the bullet points from that article.

Every single one of those is a very good thing and what many on here have called for. Perhaps this much maligned government have finally got something right?

 

[Insel affe]

Being a cynic here, are the government looking for a slice of the pie ?

 

[BN41Albion]

Horse... bolted...

 

[Guinness Boy]

Horse... bolted...

Not in terms of blocking clubs joining a European Super League. That idea is currently being revived.

Maybe with the rest, we’ll see.

These are mostly fan led ideas.

 

[beorhthelm]

you wont like it once it happens.

energy and water are heavily regulated, doesn't stop problems occuring, just means someone imposing a fine on some organisation after the fact.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Fans power to stop clubs changing badges and colours…is this really an issue? I know there’s a few isolated cases from time to time but

 

[mikeyjh]

Horse... bolted...

In terms of the ESL, definitely - That'll happen, it's a matter of when, not if. Perhaps then the rest of football will become more sustainable? A repetition of the collapse of Bury and Macclesfield may be avoided somewhat by redistribution of money but it would also help if the arms race that is the premier league has its funding massively reduced (as would be inevitable when the 'big boys' leave) alleviating the huge pressure on salaries lower down the food chain.

As it stands, I can't see how an EPL with so much 'investment' ownership would agree to ensuring a 'fair distribution of money' - What power would this body actually have, issue the odd reprimand?

 

[Hugo Rune]

I think this Government are absolutely horrific in so many ways. However, I have to applaud them on this even if they do sell the ‘anti-super league’ bit as ‘anti-EU’. Well done Tracey Crouch.

 

[nicko31]

Well on the face of it sounds positive, if they don't deliver I hope a future government does. We all know the Super League greed plan ain't over

 

[zefarelly]

To be honest, I generally worry about government involvement in anything…

football is the least of our worries.

 

[Zeberdi]

Here’s the BBC story (Athletic is paywalled / subscription, no idea why the OP picked that to share).https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64536218

So why not click on the first link I provided ?

This is only a White Paper that has been published, and only a policy statement of intent (and is incidentally based on on A FAN REVIEW published in 2021, so we can probably thank football fans for the contribution they have made) - so this has a very long way to go - first a draft bill needs to be written then the whole thing will need to go through both Houses of Parliament for debate and committee stages (where things can get changed, added or dropped) before becoming legislation (hence my dubiousness about it at this stage whether it will even happen ) unless it’s done as a fast an amendment to some parent legislation.

Fan-Led Review of Football Governance: securing the game’s future

www.gov.uk

(scroll down to Annexes - for full online questionnaire that was posted for fans to answer as a basis for the Review along with all the people and football clubs who also contributed to the Review.)

 

[Icy Gull]

Not in terms of blocking clubs joining a European Super League. That idea is currently being revived.

Maybe with the rest, we’ll see.

These are mostly fan led ideas.

I’d be 100% in favour of the big six buggering off and forming a European Super League, what a shame

 

[Leekbrookgull]

An absolute must surely has to be any owner or owner's separating the club from the ground?

 

[beorhthelm]

In terms of the ESL, definitely - That'll happen, it's a matter of when, not if. Perhaps then the rest of football will become more sustainable? A repetition of the collapse of Bury and Macclesfield may be avoided somewhat by redistribution of money but it would also help if the arms race that is the premier league has its funding massively reduced (as would be inevitable when the 'big boys' leave) alleviating the huge pressure on salaries lower down the food chain.

As it stands, I can't see how an EPL with so much 'investment' ownership would agree to ensuring a 'fair distribution of money' - What power would this body actually have, issue the odd reprimand?

i dont understand why anyone thinks redistribution would solve anything. financial mismanagement causes collapse, more money just means more spending before that point.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

I would agree with all of the stated aims and add the ditching of VAR…

 

[Zeberdi]

Horse... bolted...

As far as present PL Club ownership largely - also FIFA/UEFA/FA already cover a lot of the financial regulation, but the proposals suggest the regulator will have the power to force arbitration where agreements can’t be reached.

 

[el punal]

Being a cynic here, are the government looking for a slice of the pie ?

Watch out Piglets, they’re coming for you!