Contribution
My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 27—not as a learned lawyer, like the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, who is in his place; not as a former Sports Minister with immense understanding, like the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan; and not as a senior and experienced administrator of a huge club, like the noble Baroness, Lady Brady—but as a humble fan. I have not spoken much on the Bill, but when I have, I have spoken as a lifelong football fan who pays regularly to watch my beloved club, Tottenham Hotspur, for better or worse. I very much sense, feel and hear the varied opinions of fans on the independent football regulator, reflecting a mix of hope, scepticism and concern.
I acknowledge that there is some enthusiasm on the terraces, but it is tempered by doubts about the regulator’s scope and power. Some fans are worried that it will not address their immediate concerns, such as the rising ticket prices, the loss of cup replays or clubs prioritising lucrative overseas pre-season tours over local engagement. Posts on X suggest scepticism about whether the independent football regulator can truly challenge the entrenched power of the Premier League’s wealthy owners. As one user noted:
“It can’t force clubs to lower ticket prices”.
Others fear that it may impose bureaucratic burdens without delivering meaningful change, potentially even threatening the competitiveness of English football. Fans can be quite astute in their analysis and hopes for what a regulator was intended to do, as they now meet the harsh reality of what a regulator might actually do.
This comes at a time when some clubs—dare I use the example of English football’s biggest commercial club, Manchester United—face demonstrations from their fans demanding change. Fans are themselves motivated by a myriad of reasons, and much of their ire has to do with the performance of their team on the pitch. However, one of the issues at the heart of the Manchester United fans’ fury is ticket prices. That was why a specific fan demonstration was organised—following the raising of ticket prices to £66 and the removal of some concessions in December last year—and the issue continues to rumble on. In February, the Fulham Supporters’ Trust described the decision to sell adult away tickets for the Old Trafford cup tie at between £51 and £61 as “callous”, with away tickets capped at £30 for Premier League matches.
I do not want to be accused of picking on Manchester United, especially as it is having as poor a season as my own club, where the natives are also extremely restless, as the noble Lord, Lord Maude, knows. Again, that is for many footballing reasons, but also because of the restriction on ticket concessions that was announced this season. The same can be said of a number of other Premier League clubs, where ticket prices are going only one way and potentially acting as a barrier to many fans experiencing the beautiful, great game at a ground.
It must be acknowledged that clubs, especially Premier League clubs, are facing challenges. Clubs generate huge revenues, but, equally, they have huge outgoings and are continually chasing footballing talent and investing to achieve success in a highly competitive international market. They also face national financial pressures, such as the impact of the Labour Government’s national insurance increases on their employee base; the Labour Government’s increase of the national minimum wage; the further compliance costs that will accompany the Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill; and then the independent football regulator’s levy. We can debate the impact of the IFR on the footballing pyramid, but a question I share with millions of football fans is: will all these additional costs and that of the IFR on EPL clubs, and every single club in the land, mean that ticket prices will go up?
Rather than meeting the aspiration of helping fans to reduce ticket prices, the cost of the independent financial regulator is likely to do the exact opposite. Therefore, I have sought to make a modest amendment to Clause 14: that the IFR’s annual report include
“a review of the impact of the activity of the IFR on ticket prices”,
to give us fans some comfort that the burden of the independent football regulator will not fall on us.