The British government wants to set up a new regulator for football on the island.
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London “The people’s game” – that’s what football is called in its mother country, although it is almost nowhere else as commercialized as on the island. The government in Great Britain now wants to change that and ensure through a new supervisory authority that football becomes a popular sport again.
“Our bold plans will put fans back at the heart of football, protect the rich heritage and traditions of our beloved clubs and preserve the beautiful sport for generations to come,” announced British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London.
The government’s initiative comes at a sensitive time. Unlike in Germany, where foreign investors can only take a minority stake in Bundesliga clubs, professional football on the island has long since become a pawn for international investors, especially from the USA, Russia and the Gulf States. The fact that investors from authoritarian countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia are and were also present provided additional political explosives.
A bidding war has broken out between English billionaire Jim Ratcliff and Qatari financial investor Sheikh Jassim Al Thani for Premier League club Manchester United. United, like most other premier clubs, is no longer owned by its fans and has been owned by the American Glazer family for 17 years.
A new, independent supervisory authority is now to examine the ownership structure of the clubs and examine their finances. In this way, the government wants to ensure that the business models of the clubs are sustainable and that the clubs are managed in an economically sound manner.
In the future, clubs will have to “prove solid financial business models and good corporate governance as part of an application process before they are admitted to the competition,” the government announced. The financial collapse of traditional clubs like Bury FC 2019 called the government into action.
The fans should also be able to play a more active role in running the club, and the lower leagues should have a greater share of the top clubs’ income from the broadcasting rights. Should the clubs not be able to agree on the distribution of funds, the new supervisory authority has the last word. In the 2021/22 season, the 20 Premier League clubs recorded revenues of more than nine billion euros.
Red card for the European Super League
At the same time, the state “referees” should prevent teams from the Premier League from joining competing competitions. “The regulator will have the power, in consultation with the Football Association of England (FA) and supporters, to stop English clubs from entering new competitions that do not meet the set criteria,” it said. Clubs could be prevented from participating in “breakaway competitions” that harm domestic football, “such as the European Super League”.
Premier League officials have been wary of the government’s push, warning it is important that regulation does not harm the game or the ability to attract investment.
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