Football Governance Bill [Lords]

John Whitby Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

Football is the beautiful game, and it is truly the world’s game. For a century or so, the game had an ever-changing churn of clubs having periods of success. The game was not totally dominated by money, though money has always been a factor. With the inception of the premier league, quite literally the game changed. I am not being overly critical of the premier league—it has, after all, made the English league the greatest and most watched league in the world.

The money that has flooded in from TV rights and sponsorship has led to many of the world’s greatest players plying their trade in this country, which only adds to the global appeal. But the money, vast as it is, is nearly all in the premier league. The gulf between the bottom of the premier league and the top of the championship is enormous. The prize money for coming last in the premier league is four times greater than the prize money for the winners of the championship, and that is before the over £80 million that each premier league club gets from TV rights. This makes the desperation to reach the top flight greater than ever. Promotion does not just mean competing with the best teams; it now represents financial security.

One of a number of clubs that have fallen foul of too much risk and overstretching themselves in order to reach the promised land of the premier league is my beloved Derby County FC—one of the founding members of the football league, champions of England twice, FA cup winners, and European cup semi-finalists. Sadly, having failed in the championship play-offs four times in six years, Derby could not quite take the final step to financial security. Therefore, its unusual take on amortisation and its questionable way of making money out of its own stadium became much bigger problems. It was the premier league or bust, and for Derby it was very nearly bust.

Derby went into administration, which in itself cost the club about £3 million just for the administrators. Despite the club’s proud history and remarkable fan base, with home gates averaging 28,000, Derby County almost ceased to exist as a result of financial issues, with the club being, according to the current owner David Clowes, just one week away from going out of business. I imagine that most Derby supporters would say that the creation of an independent football regulator would be a good idea. The concept of a regulator comes from the people who make football what it is: the fans. It is, after all, a recommendation from the fan-led review.

The objectives of the IFR are sound: to protect and promote financial stability and financial resilience, and to safeguard our football heritage. Under the Bill, each club will have to submit regular financial plans and regularly consult with fans. Clubs will also have to demonstrate that they have the resources to sustain operations and show that they have the systems in place to manage financial risk. The measures will help ensure that the risks taken by Derby County cannot be taken again.

I welcome clause 46 of the Bill, which will require clubs to get approval IFR before selling their home grounds or using them as security for a loan. Clause 45 will prevent another European super league debacle—a situation where there was no consultation and no real competition, just a licence to print money at the expense of the integrity of the English game. Cardiff fans will no doubt be pleased to see clause 49, which prevents a change of team colours.

While I strongly support the Bill, I want to raise an issue brought to my attention by one of my constituents, former Arsenal and Leeds goalkeeper John Lukic. He has highlighted the growing number of ex-players suffering from CTE, which is a form of dementia caused by repeated heading of the ball. I am encouraged to hear that the Secretary of State will meet with Football Families for Justice. Football can and should do more to look after its former players.

English football has been such a success, bringing joy and occasional pain to so many. I do not want another mass march to save Derby County. I do not want another 21-point deduction. Everyone wants their team to be successful. More than that, everyone wants their team to exist. I urge Members to support the Bill.

Football Governance Bill [Lords]

John Whitby Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 8th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

I rise to support new clause 13 and amendment 29 on behalf of one of my constituents, the former Arsenal and Leeds goalkeeper John Lukic. I am grateful to John for bringing to my attention the growing number of ex-players suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a form of dementia caused by repeatedly heading the ball.

Research shows that retired footballers are more than three times more likely to suffer from dementia than the general population. CTE is a progressive and irreversible disease that leaves individuals suffering from memory loss and unable to carry out basic day-to-day activities. As a result, those around them often become their carers and have to endure watching their loved ones gradually lose their memories and independence. The modern game is awash with money; the Premier League’s latest TV deal is worth £6.7 billion. Despite the huge sums of money available, only £1 million has to date been committed to supporting players suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

As we have already heard a few times, the situation has left former players, such as world cup winner Nobby Stiles, having to sell their medals to fund their care. While footballers have always been paid comparatively well, the players from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s earned nothing like the sums that modern stars are paid, and their careers were short. It is worth highlighting that this issue may not go away: although footballs are not as heavy as they used to be, they now travel faster, meaning that the overall impact of heading a ball can be similar.

I therefore support these measures in solidarity with Football Families for Justice, which I join in calling for legislation to be enacted that will ensure competition organisers are required to provide funding towards a neurodegenerative care scheme. Unfortunately, unless competition organisers are made to do it, the belief is that they will not. Just as the Football Governance Bill seeks to protect fans from profit-driven ventures such as the creation of new super leagues, it is right that the Bill should also protect the players who gave so much to make the game what it is.

I am encouraged by what the Minister has said on this matter. We rightly hear that football is nothing without the fans, but the fans turn out only for the players. Football needs to support them.

[Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Sports Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), on bringing the Bill to this point. I also congratulate them on listening to arguments about how we treat the vast resources that come in through TV deals and distribute them throughout the football pyramid, particularly in giving the regulator powers over parachute payments, if he deems it necessary—I sincerely hope he will—if we do not get an agreement between the English Football League and the Premier League. Those payments really distort competition, particularly in the championship. That needed to be addressed in this Bill, and I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Minister on doing that.

I support the new clause and amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts). They deal with how we identify the people who really began this journey: the sports fans. This started with the super league and the fans’ reaction to it. They are determined to stop clubs from breaking away from the premier league and forming a super league with other clubs from across the globe. The reaction of fans shocked the Conservative Government at the time into action; they could not really resist. The power of fans has brought us to this point. We need to understand how we can identify fans—bona fide supporters of a club—and consult them on how we regulate the game going forwards. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East is attempting to do that through some of his amendments.

My hon. Friend has identified another very important factor, which is how we prevent assets being attractive to those people who look to take over a club, not because they are interested in football in any way but because they see assets of value from which they can make money. By running clubs into the ground, they seek to make a profit from those assets. Through the “asset of community value” powers or something similar, my hon. Friend is trying to prevent that from happening. If his amendments are not accepted or voted on tonight, I would certainly commend them to the regulator, who I hope will take heed of what my hon. Friend is attempting to achieve.

One other amendment I added my name to is new clause 1, because I think the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French), is on to something. Why do we treat other sports differently from football—why is football singled out? Well, I think we know the story of that, but it has been a long time since the issue of alcohol at football grounds has been looked at. There is nothing unreasonable about asking clubs and the football community to look at whether we can relax those rules in certain circumstances, so that where clubs want to do it, they can do it, and should do so in partnership with their fans. A review of that issue would not be a bad thing at all.

This Bill is a giant leap forward for football in this country. I commend my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench for what they have achieved, and I wish the Bill a fair wind.