Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

The final report is a thorough and detailed examination of the challenges faced by English football. It is a demonstration of the financial problems being caused by incentives within the game and reckless decision making by some clubs and owners, both of which are unsustainable and threaten the future of the game. It is clear that current oversight of the game is not up to the challenge of solving the structural challenges and action must be taken.

To address this systemic challenge, the review presents the following 10 strategic recommendations, which are accompanied in the report by detailed sub-recommendations:

To ensure the long-term sustainability of football, the Government should create a new Independent Regulator for English Football.

To ensure financial sustainability of the professional game, the Independent Regulator for English Football should oversee financial regulation in football.

New owners’ and directors’ tests for clubs should be established by the Independent Regulator for English Football replacing the three existing tests and ensuring that only good custodians and qualified directors can run these vital assets.

Football needs a new approach to corporate governance to support a long-term sustainable future of the game.

Football needs to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in clubs with committed equality, diversity and inclusion action plans regularly assessed by the Independent Regulator for English Football.

As a uniquely important stakeholder, supporters should be properly consulted by their clubs in taking key decisions by means of a shadow board.

Football clubs are a vital part of their local communities. In recognition of this there should be additional protection for key items of club heritage.

Fair distributions are vital to the long term health of football. The Premier League should guarantee its support to the pyramid and make additional, proportionate contributions to further support football.

Women’s football should be treated with parity and given its own dedicated review.

As an urgent matter, the welfare of players exiting the game needs to be better protected—particularly at a young age.

The Government welcome the work of the review and will now consider the detailed recommendations ahead of providing a full Government response in spring 2022.

The review demonstrates that there are fundamental issues with our national sport, and that this merits radical reform. Fans across the country want and deserve that reform. We have seen in the past how football has been unable to reform itself and to deliver changes that stop the likes of Bury FC or Macclesfield Town FC going out of business, or which stop clubs breaking away to set up the closed shop of a European super league.

We are at a turning point for football in this country. The review is a detailed and worthy piece of work that will require a substantive response and plan of action from across Government. But the primary recommendation of the review is clear, and one the Government choose to endorse in principle today: that football requires a strong, independent regulator to secure the future of our national game. The Government will now work at pace to determine the most effective way to deliver an independent regulator, and any powers that might be needed.

This is an important review that we hope will lead to change for good in football. The Government will now work at pace on how to make that happen.

I have today deposited a copy of the report in the Libraries of both Houses.

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