Posted on 12th July 2024
Football regulator a “top priority” for new minister
New culture secretary Lisa Nandy visited Bury FC yesterday and confirmed the Government will follow through with its commitment to introduce an independent football regulator.
The legislation was going through Parliament and had cross-party support but it wasn’t passed into law before the general election.
The FSA supports the introduction of an independent regulator as the Premier League is not capable of reigning in its most powerful clubs – see the European Super League fiasco. A regulator would be able to block domestic clubs from entering such a competition.
It would also embed and improve supporter engagement mechanisms within the game, giving better protection against unwanted changes to “heritage” items like badges, kit colours and stadium location. Added layers of financial regulation would also protect clubs.
Nandy told the Manchester Evening News: “We’d almost got there before the general election and then we didn’t. And I know better than anyone what that inaction means for clubs, not just like Bury, but for Wigan Athletic as well, my own club that went into administration.
Nandy: “I’m here as a statement of intent as my first visit to show that this is a top priority. And it’s personal for me.”
“Not only was my club Wigan Athletic at risk twice, but my step-dad was a season ticket holder here, a lifelong season ticket holder at Gigg Lane. We couldn’t care more, in my family, about this,” said Nandy.
It was great to welcome our newly elected MP James Frith and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy to Gigg Lane today.
As a club that knows all too well the effects that rogue ownership can bring, we are excited to see the creation of a football… pic.twitter.com/UW1iCRfHVN
— Bury Football Club (@buryfcofficial) July 11, 2024
FSA chair Malcolm Clarke was also in attendance, as was Bury North MP James Frith, and Malcolm welcomed the minister’s commitment to an independent football regulator.
“This was the new minister’s first official visit as secretary of state and she wanted it to be at Bury FC – it’s a good sign of her interest in football governance, and the minister spoke about the importance of football clubs to their community,” said Malcolm.
“Supporters in attendance spoke about the need to stop future Bury’s happening as, ultimately, it is the fans who are punished and not the rogue owners who cause these problems.
“The Football Governance Bill is low-hanging fruit for the Government – it had cross-party support in the previous Parliament and we look forward to working with the minister and politicians on all sides in this new Parliament.”
Ahead of the election more than 200 FSA-supporter groups signed an open letter to the party leaders calling on them to “include this [football governance] bill in their manifesto and work with the FSA in a new Parliament to reintroduce legislation in the first King’s Speech.”
