English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance

Luke Evans Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Wherever people go in the world, whichever bar they walk into, the one thing we can guarantee is that they will see a premier league game being played. That is the strength of the United Kingdom�s export and the stranglehold that we have on football across the world. Any other country would want to topple us from that position, so we must be very careful when we look to regulate in this space. That does not mean that I do not have sympathy; just down the road from me is Coventry City, which to say the least has had a turbulent time in its dealings with the premier league and now with its rebuild.

I want to concentrate on one area that I think is really important. When sentence is passed on a criminal, there is a mechanism through which the Government can ask the Parole Board to have another look. That would work really well in this situation. We need an independent regulator to satisfy FIFA and UEFA, but Parliament also needs to be able to hold people to account. To find an example, we need only look at when FA cup replays were taken away last year. The public were upset, the clubs were upset, but the decision was taken. I argue that a parole board mechanism would allow the Government to say to the regulator, �Have another look.� If it still decides to do it, fantastic, but at least we will have had our say.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) on securing this important debate. I begin by acknowledging that English football is world-leading. As well as sitting at the heart of communities up and down the country, English clubs have fans in every continent, and attract the best players from across the world. The premier league is one of our country�s best exports. Along with the EFL and the national league, it contributes billions of pounds to our economy and supports thousands of jobs, as has been outlined across the House in this debate. Its success and infrastructure support and inspire the next generation of footballing talent in English towns, villages and cities. It is because of this success that the Government want the sport to thrive for generations to come, securing the financial sustainability of the football pyramid.

My hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley, who represents Reading football club, has been a vocal supporter and campaigner on the governance and sustainability of football. She is right to raise those concerns. Reading, like so many of the other clubs that have been spoken about today, is an example of why this debate and the legislation are so important. Calls for change to secure the sustainability of football in this place date back to the cross-party Select Committee report of 2011. We then saw the ill fated super league attempt that resulted in the fan-led review. The review, led by former Conservative Sports Minister Dame Tracey Crouch, identified the need for an independent football regulator. I thank and pay tribute to her for her commitment and work. I have been pleased to be part of the women�s parliamentary football team with her, alongside so many other amazing women.

The previous Conservative Government published their Football Governance Bill�their legislation on this matter�on 18 March 2024, just less than a year ago. How time flies! That continued the cross-party consensus that existed until very recently. Members on the Government Benches and Conservative Benches were elected on manifestos that committed to bringing forward an independent football regulator. We on the Government side of the House are following through on that commitment and are on the side of football fans.

I will take this opportunity to address some of the specific questions put to me in this debate; if I cannot go into much detail, I will be happy to meet hon. Members. The hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) has taken a great interest in this subject. He asked about a second look. A new Government Lords amendment would require the Secretary of State to review the whole regime after five years. More specifically, if an owner were found to be unsuitable by the regulator, they would have the right to request a review of that decision. That review would be taken by the board. There is also a right to appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

[Dr Luke Evans]

The decision to take FA cup replays away, for example, was taken by the FA itself without any consultation; that is the difficulty. That is a prime example of the heritage of the game being taken away, and that mechanism would not quite address that. I will be happy to meet the Minister to talk through an idea that may well fit.

[Stephanie Peacock]

Great; I will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and I am really sympathetic to his points, but the Government cannot and do not want to be involved in all issues, and the regulator will not be able to cover them all. However, let us meet after the debate to discuss his ideas.

My hon. Friends the Members for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) and Bracknell (Peter Swallow) mentioned non-league football. I visited Basingstoke during the general election. Non-league governance is for the FA, as I set out in the Adjournment debate secured last week by my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore). I appreciate all the challenges that have been outlined as I have seen them first hand in my own constituency. The Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones), posed a number of specific questions. I will not comment on individual cases, but I was pleased to meet him before Christmas and will address some of his points later in my speech.

To answer the shadow Minister�s specific question, I have met UEFA, we have a good relationship and it has not raised any issues. We do not publish private correspondence, just as his Government did not. Growth is central to this Government�s aims.

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[Stephanie Peacock]

The hon. Gentleman should know that that is a commercial decision, but we have made a change so that fans will be consulted. We think that it is the right change. Our Football Governance Bill will put fans back at the heart of the game. It will protect club heritage, take on rogue owners and secure the financial sustainability of English football.

[Dr Luke Evans]

Will the Minister give way?