Football Governance Bill: UK Government will relaunch legislation with several changes to the original Bill

The Government will relaunch the Football Governance Bill in the House of Lords on Thursday - with a number of changes to the initial Bill launched in March.

The original Bill failed to progress through Parliament before July's General Election, but has now been brought back by the Labour Government.

The Bill will establish an Independent Football Regulator, with ability to implement a backstop measure which could be used should the Premier League and EFL not find agreement over funding.

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As a result, the new Bill, should it pass MPs' scrutiny, will now enable the Regulator a remit to include parachute payments, through the backstop mechanism, when assessing finances across the game.

The updated Bill will also now require clubs to provide 'effective engagement' with fans on ticket prices, at a time when some Premier League club supporters' groups are concerned their teams are trying to price out loyal season ticket holders.

The Government's foreign and trade policy will no longer come into consideration regarding approving club takeovers to ensure Regulator independence.

Another significant change is the obligation on clubs to provide greater transparency on their work towards meeting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) standards as part of the regulator's corporate governance code for clubs, something Kick It Out, the Black Footballers Partnership and prominent Asians in Football campaigners have all called for in the past.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "English football is one of our greatest exports and a source of national pride which this Government wants to see thrive for generations to come.

"But for too long, financial instability has meant loyal fans and whole communities have risked losing their cherished clubs as a result of mismanagement and reckless spending.

"This Bill seeks to properly redress the balance, putting fans back at the heart of the game, taking on rogue owners and crucially helping to put clubs up and down the country on a sound financial footing."

The creation of an independent regulator for football was the central recommendation of the fan-led review, which was commissioned by the last Government in 2021 in the wake of the European Super League scandal.

The Conservatives made a fan-led review part of its 2019 General Election manifesto, in the months after the financial collapse of Bury.

Why greater EDI transparency is important

Sky Sports News' Dev Trehan:

Obligating clubs to provide greater transparency on their work towards meeting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) standards is a sad indictment of the situation when it comes to representation in football.

While progress has been made in a number of areas, some communities continue to be left behind by football. That is borne out by the numbers, although key gaps remain in data collection, with no statistics available for the number of Black or South Asian heritage female players, for example.

The timing of this development is also particularly significant, with this coming Monday marking the four-year anniversary of the Football Association's Leadership Diversity Code, which promised "to drive diversity and inclusion" across the game when it was launched four years ago with the aim of increasing equality of opportunities.

But that has failed to materialise with the 53 professional clubs collectively signed up to the code by the end of last year failing to meet any of the eight hiring targets set the previous season.

That appears to have prompted the FA to come together with stakeholders from the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women's Super League and Barclays Women's Championship and finalise a new rule in time for the start of this season making workforce diversity reporting a mandatory requirement for professional football clubs.

But despite that significant development, the news that EDI measures will potentially be included within the scope of the regulator has been greeted by inclusion and football anti-racism campaigners across the country, albeit cautiously.

Black Footballers Partnership: Bill needs to go much further than reporting data

"The Black Footballers Partnership cautiously welcomes the Bill, particularly the addition of commitments on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

"We trust the Bill will recognise that the men's and women's games face different challenges in getting minority players on the pitch, an acute problem for the women's game, but share a lack of progress for black former players climbing the ladder into management.

"Any chosen EDI strategy should ensure it is not about picking out a token black or brown face and giving them a job title without the power. EDI needs to be lived and breathed by the clubs if this Bill is to achieve the aim of removing biases and systemic obstacles to black footballers' progression off the pitch.

"The Bill will need to go much further than simply the reporting of the data. As with any arms-length regulator, the government needs to ensure the football regulator has both a set of specific EDI aims among its priorities, and an annual strategic steer from the sponsoring department to change the picture of racial equity across the game.

"BFP looks forward to working with the government to craft meaningful commitments on racial equity across the game and looks forward to working with the regulator, once established, to help deliver them."

Women In Football: Diverse leadership crucial for football

"Women in Football welcome the amendments related to inclusion of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), which were notably absent from the original bill.

"The bill states there will be "a clear commitment" to do more to improve equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Women in Football, alongside our key partners, have been advocating for this since the first draft, as we firmly believe that including diversity provisions in the code of governance is essential.

"As we review the latest draft, it is crucial that it includes specific targets, with a strong focus on women's representation, rather than simply requiring clubs to publish their EDI action plans. Clear targets are necessary to drive meaningful change in leadership across football clubs and to effectively measure and celebrate progress.

"We believe that diverse leadership is crucial for football clubs to truly reflect the communities they serve. More gender diversity on boards and in senior positions will ensure a variety of experiences and perspectives are represented, leading to better decision-making. This diversity benefits both the men's and women's sections of clubs, helping them to grow and thrive.

"Women in Football's Open Doors Agenda calls for at least 30% representation of women in senior decision-making roles. Currently, women hold only 10% of board positions in the Premier League and a mere 5% in the Championship, in stark contrast to the 35% representation of women on boards in FTSE 100 companies.

"And finally thank you to the UK Government for listening to us at Women in Football and we look forward to continuing to work with you, to continue to drive for gender equality in our beautiful game."

Q&A: What will the Football Governance Bill mean?

Sky Sports News senior reporter Geraint Hughes:

The snappily titled Football Governance Bill is back. It never actually went away, it was just on the back burner.

July's General Election meant that the Bill Mark I couldn't get through parliament before polling day. So the Football Governance Bill Mark II is in essence the same Bill, but with some changes. The new government say these changes will strengthen the Bill.

Because of the delay due to the election, the Bill effectively has to start again as a piece of work. That means practically, from Thursday, there will be no independent regulator for football and the bill will not become law, we are at the start of the process of a Bill becoming legislation, we've been here before and this may yet take some more time.

So what's new?

The Bill Mark I was a rare thing in politics, it had cross-party support meaning MPs from all political parties more or less agreed on everything. It's felt by some in government that the delay in bringing back the Bill will have some benefits, they've had a little bit more time to look at the details, look at some of the reaction to the first Bill, and try and improve or strengthen things.

For the most part, it remains the same as last time, but there are five changes which are noticeable.

Those changes are that the Regulator, probably the most contentious part of the Bill, will now have a remit to include parachute payments through the backstop mechanism.

Clubs must 'effectively engage' with fans on things like ticket prices, compel clubs to 'democratically' select fan representatives, and do far more than the previous Bill to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the game.

And the Regulator will no longer be required to consider Government and Trade policy when approving club takeovers, it's a move to try and show the Regulator's independence from Government.

What happens now?

There is still quite a way to go before the Bill and a Regulator for football comes into force through Law. The Bill will officially get introduced to parliament, that's a matter of process, and then it goes through a phase of being scrutinised by MPs in the Commons and select committees.

Timeframes on how long this can take are almost impossible to gauge as all stakeholders, not just MPs - including the Premier League, EFL, National League and FA - will want time to once again digest the Bill. Twelve to 18 months is an often-heard timescale though.

How have football authorities responded to the Bill?

In response, the Premier League say the ''collective challenge is to ensure an effective model of regulation which can work in practice.''

They add: ''However, we remain concerned about the regulatory framework. Specifically, we believe rigid banking-style regulation, and the Regulator's unprecedented and untested powers to intervene in the distribution of the Premier League's revenues, could have a negative impact on the League's continued competitiveness, clubs' investment in world-class talent and, above all, the aspiration that drives our global appeal and growth.

"We appreciate the Government's recognition of the role English football plays in the economy and society, and its commitment to ensure that these reforms provide protections to enable the Premier League's continued global success.

"This is fundamental to the sustainability of the entire game, enabling the world-leading £1.6bn of funding in the last three years to EFL and National League clubs, the grassroots of the game, football communities and women's and girls' football.''

A statement from the EFL said: "It has been our long-held view that there is a requirement for Independent Regulation, and we believe the Bill has been framed in a way that will enable the new Regulator to protect and achieve the sustainability of clubs across the entire football pyramid.

"It is also pleasing that the State of the Game report, which will provide the objective and independent basis for the new Regulator's work, will be delivered within 18 months. We look forward, in collaboration with our clubs, to making a significant contribution to this important piece of work.

"Alongside the issue of financial reform, the EFL also recognises the key and leading role it has to play across other areas the Bill addresses, including the role of fan consultation, heritage protection and the commitments made to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion."

Football reform group Fair Game largely welcomed the changes to the Bill but felt it still did not go far enough to address fair financial flow.

Its chief executive Niall Couper said: "If the Bill is to deliver financial sustainability for the football pyramid then the regulator must have powers to set parameters around what any deal must deliver - and that should include closing the gaps between divisions and rewarding well-run clubs."

Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari welcomed the inclusion of EDI criteria within the regulator's scope, and said: "Football rightly celebrates and makes promises about its ability to unite and represent communities. Now it needs to be more transparent and accountable for those promises."

Delroy Corinaldi, the executive director of the Black Footballers Partnership, said: "Any chosen EDI strategy should ensure it is not about picking out a token black or brown face and giving them a job title without the power.

"EDI needs to be lived and breathed by the clubs if this Bill is to achieve the aim of removing biases and systemic obstacles to black footballers' progression off the pitch."

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