Fan-led Review and Football White Paper
Commons Urgent Question
The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House
of Commons on Monday 20 February.
“Our national game has become a worldwide sport, loved and
followed by millions. The growth of the Premier League, English
football’s top division, is an achievement to be celebrated. Our
grass-roots game is a force for good to bring people and
communities together across the country. However, the findings of
the fan-led review made it clear that the underlying financial
and governance structures that support English football are
unstable and fragile. The review highlighted the perverse
financial incentives that encourage clubs to overspend on chasing
success. I pay tribute to my honourable friend the Member for
Chatham and Aylesford, , for her considerable work in
this area.
The issue is exacerbated by poor corporate governance. Some clubs
lack scrutiny of decision-making, are poor at communicating with
fans, and lack transparency in decision-making. Defective
industry self-regulation throughout football has led to a high
and growing risk of financial failure among clubs. Indeed, one of
my first meetings as the Minister for Sport was with fans’
groups. I heard at first hand how poor ownership and governance
can leave clubs at the mercy of careless owners.
This structural weakness, along with the risk of breakaway
competitions such as the European Super League, threatens the
stability of the football pyramid as a whole and risks leaving
fans powerless and our national game in peril. The unique
importance of football clubs to their fans and local communities
means that the social cost of financial failures and the loss of
clubs would be significant. That includes the risk of
irreversibly damaging our valued cultural heritage.
Reform is needed to avoid those failures and prevent those
impacts arising. It is clear that the game is in need of
significant reform. As I have stressed to the football
authorities on several occasions, there is much that football
could already be doing to protect the game. This includes
reaching a much-needed agreement on a new package of financial
redistribution for the football pyramid, and, again, I urge them
to solve this issue.
The Government responded to the fan-led review in April 2022, and
we will publish a football governance White Paper this week. This
will set out a clear and well thought-through package of reforms
that will ensure that the foundations of the game are strong and
the game can continue to thrive.
I make a commitment that Ministers will come before the House to
make a Statement with a full announcement on how we intend to
reform our national game for the future and for fans, and we look
forward to ensuring that honourable Members have the opportunity
to fully scrutinise those proposals.”
15:18:00
(Lab)
My Lords, the publication of the White Paper responding to the
fan-led review has been promised more times than Brighton &
Hove Albion has suffered from dodgy VAR decisions.
Noble Lords
Oh!
(Lab)
I was expecting a bit of support. This is no laughing matter,
actually, because we have had 13 years of government
prevaricating and dithering on this issue. We have had an
excellent report produced by in another place. I am
wondering whether the Secretary of State is going to be able to
publish the White Paper this week, as was promised just
yesterday. In the meantime, clubs such as Bury, Derby, Southend,
Scunthorpe and Crawley have all had very unfortunate financial
situations obliged upon them by owners. This is really important,
and we need to get it right. There needs to be a fully effective
football regulatory body at the core of the White Paper. Can we
have from the Government today a definitive answer, first, that
the paper is going to be published this week and, secondly, that
we will have legislation before the next general election?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Culture, Media and Sport ( of Whitley Bay) (Con)
My Lords, this is indeed an important matter. That is why it was
a manifesto commitment, why the Government acted on it, why we
commissioned to lead the fan-led review,
why we accepted in principle the strategic recommendations she
made and why we are grateful to everyone who gave their thoughts
towards it. The Government have been at the forefront of work to
reform our national game and ensure that it is fit for the
future. The importance of this to clubs such as the ones the
noble Lord mentioned is well known. The review that led shone important light on
several significant and complex issues. It is right that we have
given them due attention and we will be publishing our White
Paper later this week and legislation will be set out in the
usual way.
(LD)
My Lords, if the Minister agrees that there is no other show in
town, will he make sure that these clubs have a realistic future
and take this opportunity to not only produce the paper and
legislation but to state exactly what the Government want back
from the clubs? We have this wonderful hub within the community
to support grass-roots football and other sports. Will the
Government make sure to let everybody know, if they are going to
make this change, that they will be undertaking that these clubs
take action that supports grass-roots sport and not simply youth
teams used to select talent?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I do not entirely agree that this is only show in town. While it
is important, and the White Paper will set out more detail, we
have said all along that clubs need not wait for that White Paper
or for a regulator to be up and running to get their own house in
order. There are things that the football authorities can and
should take forward, such as financial redistribution throughout
the football pyramid. We have urged them to do that in the
meantime and continue to do so. The noble Lord is right that this
is an important area and that is why the White Paper will set out
the work that the Government are taking forward.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister mentions the football pyramid. I point out
that on an average weekend more supporters attend Football League
matches than Premier League matches. Will he give the House an
assurance that when the Government publish the White Paper this
coming Thursday, supporters and the Football League will get
precedence over the Premier League?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Financial redistribution throughout the pyramid is important to
help clubs of all sizes and at every level. Our position has
always been that an industry-led solution to the issue is the
ideal. We have been pushing the Premier League and the EFL to
come to a resolution on this issue and continue to urge them to
do so. If no deal is forthcoming, it is clear that action will be
needed to find a solution that protects the game, and we will set
out more detail in the White Paper.
(CB)
My Lords, I draw attention to my register of interests. I know
the Minister is aware that I authored the independent review into
duty of care back in 2017. One of the things I asked for was an
ombudsman. Bearing in mind all the governing bodies that have
been in the press, as well as the fan-led review, is now not the
right time to raise sports governance up the political agenda and
implement at least some of the recommendations that were made?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I was grateful to have the opportunity to discuss safeguarding
with the noble Baroness and others in a recent debate about sport
in the Moses Room. She is right that these matters are vital to
make sure that everybody can participate in and enjoy football.
The White Paper will set out some of the work that the Government
will be taking forward but on these issues work must continue in
other streams as well.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, will the Government take the opportunity of this
discussion about the governance of football to address one of the
great scandals of the professional game, which is the many
millions of pounds that leak out of football to agents? Hundreds
of millions of pounds throughout Europe find their way from
supporters’ pockets into the hands of agents. When I was an agent
in the talent business, the artist paid the commission, not the
producer. This is a terrible scandal and this is an opportunity
for somebody to commission a report to understand just how much
money is leaking out of football into the hands of agents, who
contribute absolutely nothing.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
We are grateful to those who invest in football but we want to
ensure that the money flows throughout the pyramid to encourage
people to nurture talent, take up the game and play it to the
best of their ability. The White Paper will set out some of the
work that we are doing to take that forward, but we will be
mindful of my noble friend’s points.
(Lab)
My Lords, will the Government’s White Paper deal with issues such
as the ownership of Birmingham City Football Club? It is owned by
a company that is registered in the Cayman Islands and its shares
are traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its single largest
ownership block appears to be a Mr Wang Yaohui, a fugitive from
China who now resides as a Cambodian diplomat but whose name does
not appear to have any substantial listing in the club at all.
What are fans meant to do when we have this appalling ownership
structure with no transparency?
(Non-Afl)
Support Villa.
(Lab)
So far, the football authorities have washed their hands of this.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
The Government are fully aware of issues such as those raised by
the noble Lord. Sadly, there are too many examples of why action
is needed to reform football governance and make clubs
sustainable in the long term. Through tougher tests for owners
and directors, we intend to ensure that clubs have suitable
custodians with suitable business plans. Later this week, the
White Paper will set this out in more detail.
(Con)
My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister say now and through
the White Paper what is going to happen to tackle issues around
equity, racism and discrimination in the game, particularly
regarding stronger regulations and codes of conduct?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
We want everybody to enjoy the national game, whether they are
spectating or playing it; great work is being done to open the
game up and ensure that, no matter their background, everybody
can do so. There is our review of women’s football, which is
finally receiving the attention that it has deserved for so long
and inspiring young girls around the country to play football.
All of this is important.
(Lab)
My Lords, is not one of the most crucial factors affecting
football clubs—indeed, the whole of the professional game—the
chasm that exists between the Premier League and everyone else,
as my noble friend mentioned? I just want to know what, if
anything, the Government plan to do to deal with this. It has a
catastrophic effect on clubs being relegated from the Premier
League, which lose not only money but, nine times out of 10,
their attendances and their best players. We also know about the
multi-million-pound game in the play-offs, which results in a
team getting into the Premier League, or not, from the
Championship. This really is a poison at the heart of the system.
I suppose I should declare an interest as a long-time season
ticketholder at Stoke City.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
We are proud to have many world-class players and clubs in this
country. We are grateful to those who invest in them and nurture
rising talent in the game, but an important part of doing that is
ensuring that the finances flow through the pyramid and inspire
people at every level. More details will be set out in the White
Paper.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, when we last discussed this, I mentioned a report that
was produced for the Council of Europe and deals with the
questions of agents, financial disparity in clubs, and fans’
participation. The Minister had not read that report; I hope that
he has now done so. I am being very modest in not saying who
wrote the report, but I hope that some of its excellent
suggestions will be included in the White Paper.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
My Lords, I am afraid that I still have not read it but I think I
undertook last time to make sure that my right honourable friend
the Sports Minister was aware of it. I have done so. I will look
at it as soon as I have read the White Paper, which is out later
this week.
