'Once in a lifetime' opportunity for football to block nation states owning clubs | Football politics

Proposed changes to the football regulator that would ensure clubs cannot be sold to nation states will go before the House of Lords, as the legislation returns to parliament this week. Fair Game, an organization of 34 men's clubs advocating for a more sustainable approach to managing the national sport, has proposed nineteen changes to the Football Governance Bill.

Other proposals include adding a human rights component to the owner and director tests and a mandate to disclose the source of an owner's funds. The text of the proposed amendment on state ownership reads: “The bill should exclude the possibility that the owner of a club could be a state or a person or entity controlled by the state.”

The Football Governance Bill was relaunched by the Labor government last month and will receive its second formal reading in the Lords on Wednesday. While the focus of the bill is largely the same as when it was first drafted by the previous government, there have already been some changes in emphasis. This includes removing a clause that the regulator must take into account the government's foreign policy objectives before making decisions.

Fair Game now wants to focus more on ensuring stricter criteria for club owners, with the regulator carrying out assessments of potential owners as part of its remit. “Secretary of State Lisa Nandy and DCMS (the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) have improved on the previous bill introduced by the last government,” said Niall Couper, founder and chief executive of Fair Game. “However, there is still room for improvement to ensure the regulator has the necessary capacity.

“As an organization we want to ensure that a fair financial flow is high on the agenda. We also want assurances that the regulator cannot be influenced by vested interests and we want assurances that clubs receive the support they need.

“We will call on the Lords, where this bill will have its second reading, to take into account our concerns and implement the necessary changes. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do this right in our national game. We have to take advantage of it.”

Fair Game believes its proposals have growing support among its peers, who may suggest amendments to the bill as it continues to pass through parliament. Amendments must be approved by both chambers of the House before they can be added to the bill, but with a substantial Labor majority now in the Commons, MPs may be more receptive to changes that place greater emphasis on integrity of the owner.

Objections to state ownership in football often relate to the potential distortion of competition, but the possibility of human rights violations has also caused concern. In 2020, Amnesty asked the first division take action on sports money laundering and include a human rights assessment in the review of its own owners and directors. In 2023, the Premier League updated the review of its owners and directors to include “a new disqualifying event for human rights abuses.” This does not exist in the ODT proposed by the regulator.

Other suggested amendments to the bill relate to the distribution of finances in the football pyramid. Fair Game argues that the bill should be amended to ensure the regulator acts to “close the growing financial gap between divisions, rewarding well-run clubs and providing adequate compensation for player development”.

Another suggests the regulator should have the ability to unilaterally activate its backstopping power to force a financial settlement on the Premier League and the EFL. The existing text says that only one negotiating party has the power to do so.