Oral Answers to Questions

Zarah Sultana Excerpts

Thursday 20th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to progress the fan-led review of football governance.

[Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to progress the fan-led review of football governance.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to progress the fan-led review of football governance.

--- Later in debate ---

[Zarah Sultana [V]]

As an MP for Coventry, where, in recent years, our football club has repeatedly forced fans to drive miles from the city to watch home matches, and as a diehard Liverpool fan, one of the clubs involved in the proposed breakaway European super league, I know fans’ anger at owners’ decisions all too well. Ultimately, this will be changed only with fan ownership, like the 50+1 rule in Germany, but the Government could make a more immediate change to improve this. On major decisions such as moving ground or forming a new league, they could require clubs to secure a 50% plus 1 majority of season-ticket holders. Will the Government heed that demand or will they just kick the problem into the long grass?

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Lady mentions the governance structures in other countries. The terms of reference of the review explicitly say that we will be exploring

“governance structures in other countries, including ownership models, and whether any aspects could be beneficially translated to the English league system”.

The review will proceed at pace, as I set out in a previous answer, and we will then proceed at pace to implement any recommendations that follow from it.