Independent Football Regulator
Thursday, 12 November 2026
Contributions
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)Conservative
6. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Independent Football Regulator.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)Labour
The Independent Football Regulator is empowering fans and protecting clubs from unsuitable owners. In the 12 months since we appointed the football regulator, he has published the “State of the Game” report, which is an unprecedented assessment of football finances, and the biggest ever undertaken. He is involved in highly complex negotiations across the football pyramid. He has also been involved in meeting fans from a number of clubs, including Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe, when problems have arisen.
The Labour donor and chair of the Independent Football Regulator has said that if Manchester City were to sue the regulator, the regulator would need to come to the Government to get more money. Given the interest that the Prime Minister has specified about Man City and his opinion on that, how much money have the Government put aside just in case Man City sue the regulator?
We have been clear from the outset that these are very serious allegations. Manchester City must have the right to a fair process, because it strongly refutes the allegations, but that is a matter for the Premier League. Its independent body will come to a determination about that—at which point, if the allegations are upheld, we will obviously all want to see action taken—but the process has to be allowed to run its course. I would just gently say to the hon. Gentleman that I am old enough to remember when he was putting out press releases welcoming the Independent Football Regulator, at a time when his Government were in power and intended to proceed with it, and when his Government had put the football regulator we later appointed on to the long list. If he thinks he is such a crony, he needs to ask why his Government decided to put him on the long list for the appointment in the first place.
Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Ind)Independent
Thanks to research by organisations such as the Black Footballers’ Partnership, we know that while roughly 43% of players in the English premier league are black, black people hold just 1.6% of executive and leadership positions in British football. Will the Minister agree to meet me and the Black Footballers’ Partnership to discuss how the Government can support football in closing this outdated gap?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, which I think in the two years I have been Culture Secretary has not been raised directly with me in the House. He is absolutely right to say that that must change. The Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), and I have done a lot of work with football and other sports to ensure that women are in positions of responsibility within clubs and organisations. I would be more than happy to meet him to discuss what we can do to right this historical wrong.
Mr SpeakerSpeaker
I call the shadow Minister.
Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)Conservative
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my ongoing engagement with the culture, media and sport sectors as a shadow Minister. In addition to this Labour Government’s tax increases on sport, we recently learnt that their new football regulator has already spent double what the Government promised it would cost clubs and fans. When challenged on that, the chief executive of the football regulator argued that he did not agree with the Government’s forecasts, with only £1 million set aside to repay £45 million of set-up costs. That leaves £44 million unaccounted for. When should taxpayers expect their money back, and does the Secretary of State believe that the football regulator is operating to the light-touch mandate it was given by Parliament?
Yes, I do. I strongly welcome the work that the Independent Football Regulator is doing, but that is less important than the fact that fans across the country strongly welcome the work that it is doing. The “State of the Game” report was a stark wake-up call to the whole of football. As the former Sports Minister, Dame Tracey Crouch, said when she established the regulator from the fan-led review, if we do not look after the foundations of football, then we will lose one of the things that brings joy to millions of people and is one of the UK’s greatest exports. It is right that we ask football to fund the regulator, it is right that we take action to ensure that there is fair financial flow through the game, and it is right that we set it up on an independent basis with a light-touch approach to ensure that we preserve the joy of football for generations to come.
The other part of my question was about the £44 million that is currently unaccounted for. If the football regulator was to charge clubs on a £1 million basis over 10 years, that would equate to £10 million, which still leaves £35 million unaccounted for. Is the Secretary of State saying that football clubs should expect bigger bills next year, and how does she believe that will help make them more financially resilient?
The shadow Minister has consistently stood at the Dispatch Box and challenged me and the Minister for Sport on ensuring that the football regulator is independent. We believe in that independence. The football regulator has offered him many meetings to discuss the various issues that he has raised in this House, and I am sure that it would be happy to meet to discuss funding.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5436632.