Today, the Government has announced that for the first time, a new independent regulator for the men’s football will be established in law to oversee the financial sustainability of the game and put fans back at the heart of how football is run.
The regulator will implement a new licensing system from the top flight down to the National League, requiring clubs to demonstrate sound financial business models and good corporate governance as part of an application process before being allowed to compete.
It will guarantee fans a greater say in the strategic running of their clubs and help protect clubs’ heritage to stop owners changing names, badges and home shirt colours without consulting fans. It will require clubs to seek regulator approval for any sale or relocation of the stadium, with fan engagement a major part of that process.
There will be new tests for owners and directors, ensuring good custodians of clubs, stronger due diligence on sources of wealth and a requirement for robust financial planning.
The regulator will have the power to prevent English clubs from joining new competitions that do not meet a predetermined criteria, in consultation with the FA and fans. That criteria could include measures to stop clubs participating in closed-shop breakaway competitions which harm the domestic game, such as the European Super League.
To mark the occasion, Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe met with David Burgess, Managing Director of Accrington Stanley FC, to discuss the reforms, how they will benefit the English football pyramid and how they will help promote community focussed clubs like Stanley moving forward.
Commenting after the announcement, Sara Britcliffe MP said:
These reforms have been a long time coming. Since I was elected in 2019, on a commitment to look at fan-led reform of English football, I have been working closely with management at Accrington Stanley.
I am fortunate, because in my constituency I have a community focussed club, ran by local people, who take decisions in the interest of fans and our population more widely.
“Others are not so lucky, and seeing the positive difference clubs like Stanley can make has only made me more determined to see this reform through and promote sustainability within the beautiful game.
David Burgess, Managing Director of Accrington Stanley, said:
The White Paper will help Accrington Stanley in the future become more sustainable. We’re working very closely with the EFL and our local MP, Sara Britcliffe, and a lot of the work that is going on with the White Paper will make football sustainable itself.
It will give the smaller clubs and communities, like Accrington Stanley, a better opportunity of going into the future in a confident manner that they will remain sustainable.
The game itself, right down the pyramid, will remain sustainable and clubs like Bury FC, who went into administration in the end, should be a thing of the past.
