DCMS evidence session on sports governance

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee today continued taking evidence on the subject of sports governance. 

Witness Panel 1

- Basharat Hussain, Executive Chairperson, Quaid e Azam Premier Cricket League
- Adil Mehmood, Executive Finance Officer, Quaid e Azam Premier Cricket League
             
Overview: The evidence focussed largely on the structure and facilities for young cricketers of South Asian background in Yorkshire. The witnesses hardly commented at all on the question of racism, other than that Basharat Hussain told committee chairman Julian Knight he had been surprised to hear the evidence of Azeem Rafiq.
 
Julian Knight asked about an alleged smear campaign against those wanting to reform Yorkshire cricket. He commented he was surprised to learn that the Quaid e Azam League represented 1700 players and had been going for 41 years but had only recently met with the Yorkshire Cricket Board for the first time and had played one game at Headingly. He thought this was a "shocking level of disengagement" by YCB. But Basharat Hussain felt the problem had been the lack of action by his League and did not criticise YCB.
 
Responding to Giles Watling about the raison d’être of the Quaid e Azam League, Basharat Hussain said it kept children engaged with cricket and away from criminal activity. At length he described the success of the League. 
 
Julie Elliott also questioned the need for a league for South Asian cricketers. Basharat Hussain said people wanted to feel "comfortable." There was no hint that the issue was one of racism. Damian Green questioned whether the existence of the league was an "admission of defeat." Basharat Hussain did not agree. 
 
Clive Efford asked what Yorkshire Cricket, the ECB or Sport England could do to break down the barriers highlighted by Azeem Rafiq. Basharat Hussain said this was an opportunity to improve the structure of county cricket. 
 
Kevin Brennan pointed to the statistic that 30% of cricketers in Yorkshire were of South Asian background, but only 4% played at elite level. That was getting worse, not better.  He quoted from the ECB's South Asian action plan, which called for a talent pathway plan "regardless of ethnicity or background." Would it be fair to say that that wording indicated that until 2018 ethnic background had been an issue? Basharat Hussain assumed that the ECB had done research and found shortcomings. 
 
Replying to Julie Elliott, Basharat Hussain said it was clear more work had to be done to combat racism in cricket. His League was doing its best to work closely with YCB, but his focus was on encouraging and making it easier for young Asians to play cricket.

Witness Panel 2

- Tracey Crouch MP, Chair, Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance

Replying to Kevin Brennan, Tracey Crouch envisaged an independent regulator should be fully staffed and underpinned by legislation, hopefully in the next Queen's Speech. It would be funded by a sliding-scale levy on football clubs and could be started straight away on a 'shadow' basis, funded by the Treasury, probably at a cost of about £5 million. She said her report was not an a la carte menu, but set out a holistic package of reforms which set out a long-term future for English football. 

On Steve Brine's question about financial regulation, she thought football should be treated in the same way as any big business. She appreciated that football was unique, but it was possible to find creative solutions. 

John Nicolson asked about an integrity test. She could not comment on the new Newcastle owners, but said the test that applied to other industries could apply to football. 

Replying to Clive Efford on shadow boards, she said they would provide input into the running of clubs. 

She thought the Premier League would be arguing strongly for the regulator to be set up not by legislation and would prefer it to be a unit of the FA. There was also likely to be push-back on a transfer levy. 

She explained to Jane Stevenson how the golden share would work, as recommended in her report. Damian Green asked about clubs being punished, to which Ms Crouch agreed it was harsh on fans for clubs to be punished by points deductions. Financial monitoring would hopefully prevent clubs from getting into trouble. 

She made it clear that the Premier League was responsible for regulating football matters and the independent regulator was required for financial issues. 

Replying to Julie Elliot, she said that the subject of women's football needed to be tackled in a separate review. That would be for the government to decide on. 

Giles Watling asked about welfare and duty of care. Ms Crouch said there were good examples of academies helping all young players, including the majority who did not go on to be professionals. Most clubs ensured young players continued with their education, but the system could be much better. All football stakeholders needed to get together to ensure a comprehensive welfare system was put in place. Financial advice and mental health support needed to be improved. She agreed that a transfer levy - an important part of her report - could be used for many things, including support for grassroots football and player welfare. The Premier League could introduce that immediately. 

Kevin Brennan asked about regulation of football agents. Ms Crouch said FIFA was looking into the role of agents, who operated across all countries. She did want to make recommendations unique to English football.