Liz Truss could be the saviour of football
“Since 2019, the Conservative Party have made the right noises in terms of football governance. Now it is up to Liz Truss to complete the job and save our National Game.”
Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game
RESPONDING to the appointment of Liz Truss as the new leader of the Conservative Party, Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said:
“Liz Truss has the opportunity to write herself into the history books as the saviour of football.
“There is no doubt football is broken.
“At the moment one football club relegated from the Premier League gets £55m in a ‘parachute payment’ from the Premier League that is more than the League gives to all the clubs of League One, League Two, the National League, the National League North, the National League South, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship put together. That is one club getting more than 140 others.
“That has sparked a culture of gambling throughout the pyramid. More than half of the clubs in Championship spend more money on players’ wages than they get in revenue. And in 2020 52% of the clubs in our top four divisions – that is before the pandemic – were technically insolvent. That is clearly unsustainable.
“There are dozens of hard-working clubs that are trying hard to live with their means, but because of the existing culture they are struggling to compete.
“Those clubs struggled through the pandemic and are now, with the cost-of-living crisis, tottering on the edge of extinction.
“That culture needs to end. The governance of the game needs an overhaul. The financial flow needs a rethink. Yet, the football authorities have failed repeatedly to deliver. The time is up. The responsibility has to go to an Independent Regulator.
“That was the conclusion of the Fan-Led Review commissioned by Boris Johnson and led by former Conservative Sports Minister Tracey Crouch. A Review that was subsequently endorsed by the outgoing Secretary of State Nadine Dorries in the official Government response earlier this year.
“Since 2019, the Conservative Party have made the right noises in terms of football governance. Now it is up to Liz Truss to complete the job and save our National Game.”
