‘Once in a lifetime’ chance for football to block nation states owning clubs

• Second reading of governance bill set for House of Lords
• Fair Game argues for more sustainable approach to game

Proposed changes to the football regulator that would ensure clubs could not be sold to nation states are to be put before the House of Lords, as legislation returns to parliament this week. Nineteen changes to the football governance bill have been proposed by Fair Game, an organisation of 34 men’s clubs that argues for a more sustainable approach to running the national sport.

Other proposals include the addition of a human rights component to owners’ and directors’ tests and a mandate to disclose the source of an owner’s funds. The text of the proposed amendment on state ownership says: “The Bill must exclude the possibility that an owner of a club could be a state or state-controlled person or entity.”The football governance bill was relaunched by the Labour government last month and will receive its formal second reading in the Lords on Wednesday. While the focus of the bill is largely the same as when first drafted by the previous government, there have already been some changes in emphasis. This includes the deletion of a clause that the regulator must take into consideration the government’s foreign policy objectives before making decisions.

Fair Game now wants to put greater focus on ensuring stricter criteria for club owners, with the regulator conducting assessments of potential owners as part of its remit. “The secretary of state, Lisa Nandy, and the DCMS [the Department for Culture, Media and Sport] have improved the previous Bill put forward by the last government,” said Niall Couper, the founder and CEO of Fair Game. “However, there is still room for improvement to ensure the regulator has the teeth required.

“As an organisation we want to ensure that a fair financial flow is top of the agenda. We also want assurances that the regulator cannot be influenced by vested interests and we want guarantees that clubs receive the support they need.

“We will be calling on the Lords, where this bill will have its second reading, to take on board our concerns and to implement the changes needed. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get this right for our national game. It has to be seized.”

Fair Game believes its proposals have growing support among peers, who can suggest amendments to the bill as it continues its passage through parliament. Amendments must be approved by both chambers of the house before they can be added to the bill, but with a substantial Labour majority now in the Commons, MPs may be more receptive to changes that put greater emphasis on an owner’s integrity.

Objections to state ownership in football often relate to the potential distortion of competition, but the possibility of human rights violations have also caused concern. In 2020, Amnesty called on the Premier League to take action on sportswashing and include a human rights assessment in its own owners’ and directors’ test. In 2023, the Premier League updated its owners’ and directors’ test to include “a new disqualifying event for human rights abuses”. Thisdoes not exist in the regulator’s proposed ODT.Other suggested amendments to the bill relate to the distribution of finances down the football pyramid. Fair Game argues the bill should be amended to ensure the regulator acts to “close the growing financial gap between divisions, rewarding well-run clubs and providing adequate compensation for the development of players”.

Another suggests the regulator should have the ability to activate unilaterally its backstop power to force a financial settlement on the Premier League and EFL. The existing text says that only a negotiating party has the power to do this.