Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to close regulatory loopholes for owners and prospective owners of football clubs.

Fans deserve to know who makes decisions at their clubs and have confidence that the owners are suitable. We also know that ensuring football attracts the right, continued investment is crucial to the long-term health of the game.

That is why we established the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) and gave it the powers to test all owners and officers at the point of entry, and act to remove existing owners if deemed necessary.

Crucially, what stands the IFR’s tests apart from the leagues’ existing tests is its ability to access greater depths of intelligence to inform its decision making. They can do this through their information gathering powers and sharing agreements with key organisations, including the National Crime Agency.