Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Independent Football Regulator can credibly enforce equality and diversity standards in professional football, in the context of the absence of Black representation on its board.

We want a national game that reflects the diversity of our communities and ensures clubs truly represent the supporters they serve. However, we recognise there is under-representation of our diverse communities in senior leadership roles across the game.

The Independent Football Regulator’s board members bring skills and experience across football, the media, regulation, law, finance and other industries. We are confident that this balance of regulatory oversight and industry insight allows the IFR to meet its statutory objectives.

The IFR is setting statutory governance requirements on clubs, where they must report on what action they are taking with regard to equality, diversity and inclusion. These are more stringent than those previously set by football bodies.