The Premier League and EFL must urgently come to an agreement on
sharing more revenue with clubs down the football pyramid or the
Government should bring forward setting up the planned
independent regulator to impose a deal on the football
authorities, MPs say today.
The CMS Committee report on football governance
warns that if there is no solution soon to the deadlock between
the Premier League and EFL on the redistribution of funds, more
clubs will be put at risk of collapse in a similar way to Bury FC
nearly three years ago. It recommends that the deal should not
include an increase in the current level of parachute payments
from the Premier League.
The Committee’s report comes after it took evidence on the
Government’s football governance White Paper which was published
in February. The Committee welcomes the progress the Government
has made so far in response to the fan-led review and calls for
the Independent Regulator for English Football (IREF) to be set
up in shadow form by the end of the year, with legislation to
give it statutory powers passed by the end of the Parliament.
The report also makes recommendations aimed at boosting fan
engagement and equality, diversity and inclusion standards at
football clubs.
, Chair of the CMS
Committee, said: “Unless the football authorities
get their act together soon on agreeing a fairer share of revenue
down the pyramid, we risk more clubs collapsing, with the
devastating impact that can have on local communities. It’s in
the best interests of all involved to get this sorted quickly. If
the stalemate continues, the Government should step in to ensure
the planned independent regulator is in place with the legal
powers to impose a deal to safeguard clubs for the future and
ensure the long-term financial stability of the national
game.”
Main findings and
recommendations
An independent regulator
- The Committee welcomes the Government's commitment to
establish an Independent Regulator for Football (IREF). It should
be set up in a shadow form by the end of the year to ensure that
it can begin initial engagement and preparatory work before
waiting for legislation to be passed. The Government should
ensure the legislation needed to give statutory powers to the
Independent Regulator are included in the forthcoming King's
Speech and ensure that legislation is passed in this present
Parliament.
Fan engagement
- The Committee welcomes the Premier League’s fan engagement
standard but notes that the level of fan engagement from Premier
League and EFL clubs still varies wildly. IREF should ensure that
its licencing conditions regarding fan engagement should be set
independently of the current Premier League Fan Engagement
Standard. Unless there is immediate and significant change from
leagues and clubs, the Committee expect that IREF will be
required to set and enforce a substantially higher level of fan
engagement for clubs to meet than the leagues have set
themselves, in order to ensure all clubs work to meet the needs
of fans.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- While in shadow form, IREF should look to existing 15
corporate governance codes and work with stakeholders to ensure
that substantive EDI measures are included in the new Code for
Football Governance.
- The Committee recommends that the Government should give IREF
the authority to mandate EDI Action Plans as part of its
threshold licence conditions for clubs. Clubs’ performances
against these Action Plans should be assessed regularly by IREF
as part of its routine licence reviews.
The role of Football Authorities
- The report urges the Premier League, EFL and the FA to
urgently reach an agreement on sharing a higher proportion of
revenue with clubs down the football pyramid before the
establishment of IREF. This should include no increase in the
current level of parachute payments from the Premier League but
should include an increased, strategic redistribution of income
from all Leagues down to the grassroots of football. If there are
no immediate signs of progress on revenue sharing, the Government
should expedite its plans to establish the Independent Regulator
with the power to mandate a solution.
