Fair Game calls for overhaul of football as Derby County deadline looms

“Football needs the Government to implement the Fan-Led Review and incentivise clubs to run themselves sustainability to protect our national game from disaster”

Niall Couper, Fair Game CEO

AS THE EFL deadline for Derby to find a financial solution for the remainder of the year looms, Fair Game is reiterating its call to the Government to implement the Fan-Led Review and legislate to protect the future of our national game.

Our national game is in crisis. More than half of clubs in the top four divisions who declared their finances in 2020 were financially insolvent. This leaves clubs, traditions and communities at the whim of owners and the precipice of being one bad owner from extinction.

The warning signs from the winding up of Bury and Macclesfield haven’t been heeded. And now we have Derby County. Derby County a founding member of the Football League. Derby County twice champions of the football league staring down the barrel of liquidation.

Niall Couper, Fair Game’s CEO, said: “The situation at Derby is nothing short of a catastrophe. The financial brinkmanship and gambling to reach the Premier League has threatened the very existence of the club and its heritage. Fans of Derby have to be the last to face these challenges.

“Football needs the Government to implement legislation to support the recommendations in the Fan-Led Review, and incentivise clubs to run themselves sustainability, to protect our national game from disaster.”

The Fan Led Review supports stronger financial controls, proper fan engagement and meaningful equality standards. And that it's all overseen by an independent regulator that holds the license to enforce these changes. Fair Game and leading regulatory experts, LCP, believe this can be brought together by incentivising clubs through the Sustainability Index.

The Index marks all professional clubs on four criteria – Financial Sustainability, Good Governance, Equality Standards and Fan & Community Engagement. The higher a club scores the more money it gets.

The Sustainability Index is a key part of Fair Game’s manifesto, which is supported by 34 clubs in England and Wales. It is an approach that has consistently worked in other regulated industries, and it would transform football.