Member

I thank my noble friend Lady Taylor for bringing forward Amendment 21. As I am sure my noble friend is aware, the Secretary of State would have the ability to specify the competitions in scope of the regulator. Currently, as noble Lords have noted, this is envisaged as being the top five tiers of men’s football in England. Despite my noble friend Lord Bassam’s concerns, the National League North and the National League South would currently not be in scope. These leagues are hugely important, not least to local communities up and down the country, but the amendment would place regulatory requirements on clubs all the way down to the grass-roots level of the game.