The UK government plans to legislate later this year to set up a football regulator to oversee England’s Premier League and lower divisions from 2024, people familiar with the discussions said.
(Bloomberg) — The UK government plans to legislate later this year to set up a football regulator to oversee England’s Premier League and lower divisions from 2024, people familiar with the discussions said.
Legislation to set up the body is expected to be announced in the King’s Speech in November, with a bill put before Parliament at the end of this year, according to the people, who requested anonymity discussing matters that aren’t public. The regulator would start its work in 2024 and focus on financial security, tougher ownership criteria and rules to stop teams joining breakaway competitions.
Still, there are concerns the planned timeline could be derailed because the Treasury won’t stump up the necessary start-up costs, which could rise as high as £25 million ($32 million), according to one of the people. Britain’s finance ministry has told the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that it won’t receive any new funding for the regulator, meaning DCMS may take longer than intended to implement the plans, or be forced to cut grassroots football funding, they said.
The lack of extra funding underscores the environment of fiscal restraint that government departments are operating in. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to get the national debt falling, and with his Conservative Party reluctant to raise taxes that are already at a multi-decade high, ministers are having to keep a tight control over spending, even when it comes to delivering on promised reforms.
Earlier this month, Sunak’s government accepted pay settlements for public sector workers but said departments would have to make fund them through “efficiencies” within their own already-agreed budgets.
Under current plans, any costs borne up front by DCMS would eventually be recouped through industry levies proportionate to each football club’s revenue, another person familiar with the matter said. They would also fund the ongoing costs of running the regulator, they said.
The proposed reforms to football governance were announced in a government policy document known as a white paper in February.
“Football clubs play a vital role in their local communities and we’re committed to ensuring they are run in a sustainable way for the benefit of current and future generations of fans,” DCMS said in an emailed statement. Further details on an independent body to oversee the game “will be set out as soon as parliamentary time allows.”
The Premier League declined to comment.
The aim of the proposals is to hand more power back to fans, protect clubs from unscrupulous owners and distribute television money widely down the football pyramid. They would also require owners of Premier League clubs to declare where their money comes from and their ability to manage debt.
While the plan has been popular among smaller football clubs and fans, the English Premier League has given it a more cautious welcome. Earlier this year it said in a statement: “It is vital that regulation does not damage the game fans love to watch.”
The Premier League is currently in ongoing discussions with the English Football League, which represents 72 professional football clubs outside the top tier, about the distribution of revenues from the sport’s financially powerful teams, such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, to the smaller clubs outside the game’s top tier. “Talks are still ongoing,” an EFL spokesman said.
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