YOU may have seen media coverage of the Football Governance Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament, writes Oxford United Supporters’ Panel (OUSP) chair Janine Bailey.
The Bill has come out of recommendations from the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance and includes the introduction of an independent regulator to offer greater financial protections to clubs and to give supporters more say in important issues, including tickets and club heritage items.
For these reasons, OUSP supports the Bill. But the Bill is not without critics, notably some involved in the Premier League.
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The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is the independent organisation for supporters in England and Wales. The FSA fully supports the Bill and wrote in response to some of this week’s news coverage. We thank the FSA for allowing us to reproduce their response below:
Sports minister Stephanie Peacock has said ‘it is no surprise that there continues to be a loud minority seeking to derail the debate, promote untruths and preserve the status quo’ as the Football Governance Bill progresses through Parliament.
The Football Governance Bill was tabled by the last Government with cross-party support and featured in the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifestos.
The Bill is currently being debated in the Lords although some Conservatives are now tying themselves in knots trying to find reasons why an idea their party supported during the election campaign is now a threat to the game.
Baroness Brady has been a particularly vocal opponent of the Bill. Interviewed in The Times, with Brighton chief executive Paul Barber and Arsenal board member Tim Lewis, Brady said there has been a ‘lack of consultation’ on the legislation.
Peacock hit back at those claims in Wednesday’s Daily Mail.
“With change coming, it is no surprise that there continues to be a loud minority seeking to derail the debate, promote untruths and preserve the status quo,” said Peacock.
“We have repeatedly said that this historic Bill will deliver a light touch Independent Football Regulator.
“This body will be tasked with improving club finances, ensuring sustainability across the leagues and safeguarding things like club colours and badges for future generations of fans.
“Throughout the entire process fans, clubs and the football authorities have helped develop this legislation.
“In 2024 alone, over 230 stakeholder meetings took place with ministers and officials, the majority of those coming after Labour’s general election win.”
While club executives might like to make out they’ve been sidelined when it comes to consultation, that doesn’t tally with the lengths the previous Government went to in setting up the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance to engage clubs, leagues and supporters.
In January 2024, the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters even told MPs that ‘we have had an enormous amount of consultation with the Government on the policies that sit behind the Bill and we have been an active participant in all that, as you expect’.
The FSA notes that the Bill would block any domestic teams’ involvement in a breakaway European Super League, introduce an independent regulator to offer greater financial protections to our clubs and give supporters a bigger voice in many important issues.