English football is for it’s ‘biggest revolution’ in three decades with the Government set to impose an independent regulator on the game.
An independent regulator was one of the recommendations put forward by Tracey Crouch MP in her Fan Led review last year following the debacle that surrounded the failed Project Big Picture and European Super League proposals.
The review concluded that the English game needed an independent regulator, with the very makeup of the sport in this country meaning that everyone often acts in their own best interests – with the Premier League, EFL and FA all having differing priorities.
According to the Mail, the regulator has now been ‘signed off’ by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and will ‘likely become law by 2024’, with a panel set to be appointed and an ‘appropriate individual to head the independent football regulator’.
The prospect of a regulator had looked like being scrapped by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, with the report saying that there had been ‘champagne corks popping at the Premier League’ at the prospect of maintaining the status quo.
However, those celebrations appear to be somewhat premature following Truss’ short stint in number 10, with the new regulator set to be announced after Christmas.
The decision is likely to be unpopular in some sections of the game, with the Premier League’s biggest sides ‘likely to come under greatest scrutiny under the new regulator’.
The report says that a regulator would not prevent Middle Eastern investors buying into the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool over their human rights record, though would look to bring an end to the woeful mismanagement at clubs such as Bury and Derby.
It is however ‘likely to take a more robust approach’ on so-called State Sponsorship of clubs as we have seen at the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle.
It adds that ‘owners and directors tests are likely to be strengthened and better corporate governance imposed’, with each club set to have to ‘appoint independent directors rather than be run by a cosy cabal of owners’ friends’.
The introduction of the regulator looks set to be the biggest shakeup that the English game since the onset of the Premier League back in 1992.
