The Guardian's view on the football governance bill: a possible turning point | Editorial
Yonorth The soccer manIn his acclaimed portrait of the national sport of the 1960s, writer and journalist Arthur Hopcraft wrote that “the way we play, organize and reward it reflects the kind of community we are.” Viewed from the present, this is a rather depressing thought.
The English football family is unequal, conflictive and divided at the moment. Rising broadcast revenues, the success of the Premier League and the legacy of an anything-goes approach to club ownership have channeled enormous power and wealth to the top of domestic football, but created deep insecurity elsewhere. . Despite having signed Following a record £6.7bn deal for national television in December, Premier League clubs continue to resist calls to level out the huge financial disparities between the leagues. While a turbocharged elite aspires for trophies, television contracts and lots of money, clubs outside that golden circle fight to survive and stay vulnerable to reckless owners and exploiters.
Plans sleepless Therefore, the decisions to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday for football's first independent regulator are welcome and overdue. As outlined in the football governance bill, the new regulator would be responsible for granting operating licenses to clubs in the top five divisions, under agreed conditions. Backup powers could be used to intervene, in the absence of a fair financial agreement between the different leagues. Other main objectives include ensuring the financial sustainability of the clubs, giving a meaningful voice to fans and safeguarding the “heritage” of the club. Clubs found in breach of their licensing agreement would risk large fines.
The devil will be in the details of the eventual legislation. It is all very well, for example, to insist that owners carry out proper consultations with fans. But in the absence of, say, a designated seat for a supporter on the board of directors, or some kind of gold stock system, the danger of a purely cosmetic exercise is evident. However, the direction of travel is the right one, as the Football Fans Association enthusiastically acknowledges.
Unsurprisingly, the Premier League's response has been much colder, warning of consequences that could “weaken the competitiveness and attractiveness of English football.” This is arrogant and selfish. The glory of English football does not come solely from the success of a Manchester City or a Liverpool in the Champions League. Nor should it depend on the continued goodwill of passing billionaires and oil-rich countries. state. Seen from abroad, the most admired feature of our national sport has long been the breadth of a footballing landscape that supports so many smaller clubs as sources of local pride and identity. The presence of a strong, independent “guiding mind” for football, committed to the common good of all stakeholders in the game, is likely to enhance, rather than diminish, competition, leading to greater unpredictability and emotion.
The path to the current bill began in 2021, when it took a revolt by the fans to dismiss the plans for a breakaway European Super League, to which the owners of the six largest clubs in England had adhered. The ESL would have hindered national football and corrupted its soul by creating a competition in which there was no risk of relegation. The government's licensing proposals aim to ensure the attempt cannot be repeated. The publication of the Football Governance Bill may be late, but in this sense and more generally, it is a potential game-changer.
