Can Parliament Fix Football?

For decades, English football has operated as a large part of its own regulatory environment. The Premier League regulates many aspects of its environment through its own rules regarding finance, controls the process for testing the suitability of owners, and handles discipline against clubs. However, after a string of scandals, including issues related to financial management, break away leagues, and ownership disputes, there has been growing pressure to ask the question of whether football should truly be allowed to regulate itself?

In Westminster, the answer to the question appears to be 'no'. A proposed "Football Governance Bill" would bring into being an "Independent Regulator for English Football", a statutory body intended to control financial viability, ensure acceptable standards of ownership, and promote fan engagement. The proposal was made in response to the "Fan-Led Review of Football Governance", initiated by Tracey Crouch MP and completed in 2021, which determined that football's self-regulatory systems were unable to effectively protect football clubs and their communities. Under the provisions of the proposed regulatory framework, clubs would need to obtain a licence to participate in the professional leagues; the regulator would have the ability to review a club's financial situation, evaluate prospective owners, and provide relief if a club is at risk of collapse; and the regulator would also have the responsibility to protect what are referred to as "heritage assets," including the name of a club, the logo of a club, and the stadium of a club, and would prevent an owner from making unilateral decisions to modify these items without consulting fans, a safeguard that Manchester United supporters would argue might have been useful in the Glazer ownership saga.

Those who support the introduction of the Independent Regulator assert that this is long overdue. The collapses of Bury and Macclesfield Town and the increasing amount of debt throughout the pyramid demonstrated serious shortcomings in the existing regulatory model. Those who oppose the creation of the Independent Regulator warn that government involvement will lead to overreach. While football is a competitive sports-based ecosystem, it is also a business, and excessive regulatory measures could scare investors or create uncertainty.

From a legal standpoint, the proposed regulatory model represents a transition from private regulatory models to a public regulatory model. The Premier League would no longer be the primary entity responsible for establishing and enforcing its own financial parameters. In place of the Premier League would be the statute, providing additionallayers of accountability.

It is still unclear whether Parliament can "cure" the problems that exist within the sport of football. The Independent Regulator may prevent reckless ownership and financially irresponsible behaviour that results in the collapse of a club, but the regulator cannot force clubs to manage well or succeed on the pitch. What the Independent Regulator can do, however, is determine where the ultimate authority for regulating football resides. For the first time in modern English football history, the whistle signalling the end of the game of governing football may not be blown by the league, but by the laws of the land.