Don’t fear football regulator, league chief tells rich clubs

Claims an independent football regulator could stifle the growth of the Premier League and foreign investment in it are “complete nonsense”, English Football League (EFL) chairman Rick Parry has told the BBC.

Under a change to a government bill going through Parliament, the proposed regulator will have a duty to avoid having a negative impact on the financial growth of the English game.

But a government source has played down reports No 10 is considering scaling back the regulator’s powers as part of a wider move to cut bureaucracy.

Mr Parry said the changes being put forward would benefit the whole of the men’s professional game, but well-off clubs had “nothing to fear” from them.

The Football Governance Bill is due to complete its House of Lords stages next week, after which it will be sent to the Commons for MPs to consider.

It would establish a regulator which is independent from government and the sport’s authorities to oversee the men’s game in England’s top five divisions.

The regulator would set out mandatory conditions for clubs to meet, relating to corporate governance and financial reporting.

Clubs would also be required to provide “effective engagement” with fans on changes to ticket prices and any proposals to relocate home grounds.

Under “backstop powers”, the regulator could intervene between the Premier League and the EFL if they fail to agree a deal to redistribute money to EFL clubs, many of which are cash-strapped.

Previous rounds of talks have collapsed.

The Premier League has repeatedly argued that English football is capable of regulating itself, and said it is critical that any external regulation is “proportionate”.

It has warned of “unintended consequences of legislation that could weaken the competitiveness and appeal of ­English football”.

Bloomberg UK has reported that, following lobbying from Premier League owners, No 10 is looking again at some of the bill’s measures, to ensure foreign investors are not discouraged from buying English clubs.

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have put economic growth and investment at the centre of their programme for government.

Last week, the prime minister announced that NHS England would be abolished and brought under “democratic control” to cut bureaucracy.

He said for too long politicians had “chosen to hide behind vast arrays of quangos” – organisations funded by taxpayers but not directly controlled by the government.

However, the source at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is piloting the bill through Parliament, indicated to the BBC it was aligned with Downing Street on the need for a “light touch” football regulator.

Mr Parry told the BBC different parts of government often had different views.

But he said he was encouraged by the way ministers had successfully resisted attempts by Conservative peers to weaken the legislation in the Lords last week, with “an impressive whipping operation”.

The impetus for an independent regulator has been years in the making, with several lower division clubs subjected to financial mismanagement and. in some cases like Bury and Macclesfield Town, complete collapse.

Mr Parry said many MPs, particularly in northern towns, were very aware that lower league football clubs were at “the heart of their communities”.

There was “not a shred of evidence” for Premier League clubs’ arguments that their financial competitiveness could be undermined by the proposed regulator, he added.

“No one wants to kill the golden goose or impose unnecessary bureaucracy”, but the Premier League had to “discharge its responsibilities”, he argued.

Mr Parry pointed to a “growing gulf” between the Premier League and the EFL, saying an £11m gap in finances had soared to £3.3bn since the inception of the top tier in 1992.

An increasingly “unbridgeable chasm” was highlighted by the fact that all three clubs promoted from the Championship in 2023 had been immediately relegated the following season – and that was looking likely to happen again this season – he said.

The bill was initially introduced in March 2024 by the previous Conservative government, following a fan-led review headed by former sports minister Tracey Crouch.

But it ran out of parliamentary time when Rishi Sunak called a general election.

When it took office, Labour reintroduced the bill, promising to protect clubs’ “financial sustainability”.

Under Kemi Badenoch, the Tories have shifted their position and now oppose the bill.

Badenoch has argued it will be “a waste of money”.

Mr Parry said he still wanted to engage with the Conservative leadership on the merits of a regulator, adding that he believed many grassroots Tories still backed the idea.