New Bill offers hope, but concerns remain over football’s financial flow

Niall Couper, CEO Fair Game:

“The big concern remains fair financial flow. The financial divide between divisions has been growing over the last 20 years. The pressure to overspend to climb the pyramid has reached epidemic levels – 58% of our top 92 clubs are technically insolvent. If the Bill is to deliver financial sustainability for the football pyramid then the Regulator must have powers to set parameters around what any deal must deliver”

FAIR GAME broadly welcomed today’s publication of the Football Governance Bill, but added there was still room for improvement. Fair Game CEO, Niall Couper, said:

“We welcome the fresh publication of the Football Governance Bill from the government, which has stuck to its manifesto pledge and reintroduced the Bill to Parliament.

“As ever the devil will be in the detail.

“Our advocacy and legal teams, are going through the Bill line by line but our initial assessment is that this Bill is an improvement on the legislation put forward by the previous government.

“There is a lot to welcome in it: a stronger emphasis on EDI and fan engagement; parachute payments have been included; and the “regard to” foreign policy has been sliced out.

“However, the big concern remains fair financial flow. The financial divide between divisions has been growing over the last 20 years. The pressure to overspend to climb the pyramid has reached epidemic levels – 58% of our top 92 clubs are technically insolvent.

“If the Bill is to deliver financial sustainability for the football pyramid then the Regulator must have powers to set parameters around what any deal must deliver – and that should include closing the gaps between divisions and rewarding well-run clubs.”

An overview of Fair Game’s analysis of the changes needed to be seen from the previous Football Governance Bill can be viewed here.