Posted on 7th March 2025
MPs back football governance reform
Football’s governance was a hot topic of debate in Parliament yesterday with MPs lining up to support the Football Governance Bill, in a debate tabled by Yuan Yang MP whose constituency is home to Reading FC.
Supporters at the club have led a long-running campaign encouraging owner Dai Yongge to sell up following years of strife inducing unpaid wages, transfer embargoes and points deductions.
“Reading is one of the oldest clubs in England, and had previously been known for its good management. Now, after four winding-up petitions, five points deductions and persistent late tax payments, Reading sits on the brink,” said Yang.
Yuan Yang MP: “So many fans have experienced what Reading has gone through, and we owe it to them to voice the problems that we see across the football pyramid.”
While the Football Governance Bill will tighten up the rules on owners and directors, it also promises to rebalance the financial structure of football in England as parachute payments look likely to fall within the remit of an independent regulator.
“This season, Premier League clubs and the four recently relegated clubs held on to 94% of the league’s broadcast revenues. That means that the remainder of the 68 clubs in the EFL received just 6%. In comparison, the German Bundesliga ensures an 80:20 split between the top two divisions,” added Yang.
Last month Yang launched a petition, which has more than 10,000 signatories, calling for an inquiry into Reading’s ownership problems.
During the debate, many MPs namechecked the importance of their local clubs to the community and how supporters should be given a say in how the game is governed.
While a small number of Conservative and Reform MPs spoke against the Football Governance Bill, the overwhelming majority of MPs still spoke in its favour and the Government’s intention to push on with the Bill remains strong.
Sports minister Stephanie Peacock said: “The Government are on the side of football fans. That is why we have introduced the Football Governance Bill: to put fans back at the heart of the game.”
The EFL, and therefore the vast majority of professional clubs in the 92, also continue to back the Bill alongside the FSA and supporters’ groups across the country.
What did MPs say?
The FSA is secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Football Supporters which shares the goals of the FSA and has been very supportive across a range of issues such as football governance, safe standing and ticket prices.
A number of MPs on the APPG made valuable contributions to the debate (in chronological order):
Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab): “Chesterfield Football Club wanted me to put on the record its support for the work of football governance. We have a monstrous success story in the level of money in football, but on the other, we have almost the entire English Football League running effectively bankrupt and relying on the owners for bail-outs year after year? That simply cannot make sense as a model, can it?”
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab): “We do not have competition right now. In the Premier League, the three promoted clubs are almost certainly likely to go back down to the Championship. The disparity of money and funding means we are losing what is the best part of English football: competition. If we really want competition, we have to make the money go down the pyramid more fairly.”
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab): “English football is central to the social fabric of Britain and is one of our greatest exports. It is more than a sport; it is the beating heart of our local communities. In my totally unbiased opinion, there is no better proof of that than Luton. Despite the consensus that there is much to celebrate about the success of English football, the underlying governance structure and its financial sustainability are highly fragile.”
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab): “The average club in receipt of parachute payments receives £49 million, while a non-parachute-payment club gets £5.4 million. That promotes risk-taking and distortion. No other organisation would accept, as the English Football League does, an outside organisation like the Premier League providing resources that distort the competition. That is why we need a regulator. We have to stop that risk-taking.”
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab): “Two seasons ago, just 25 clubs received 92% of English football’s distributable revenues—around £3.3 billion—leaving the remaining 67 clubs to share only 8%, or £245 million. Parachute payments originally designed to assist relegated clubs now act as trampoline payments, giving some clubs an unfair financial advantage and limiting promotion opportunities. There is enough money in English football for sustainability throughout the pyramid to be a realistic aspiration.”
Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab): “I very much support the Football Governance Bill because an independent football regulator will make improvements. I hope that the Bill will create a proper process for distributing revenue throughout the football pyramid, with proper deals between the Premier League and the English Football League.”
Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab): “We are fortunate at Carlisle United to have very generous owners who have invested huge amounts of money over the last 18 months, but even I can see that community work can best be guaranteed by having a fairer distribution of revenues.”
Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab): “In my first speech in Parliament, I reiterated my promise to the Shrimps to deliver an independent football regulator, a stronger owners and directors test, better fan representation and much better measures on financial sustainability. I only hope that it does not come too late for Morecambe FC.”
Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab): “For too long, the governance and financial model of our game has left clubs vulnerable to mismanagement, unscrupulous ownership and, ultimately, financial ruin. Those clubs also need protection.”
Jack Abbott (Ipswich) (Lab/Co-op): “Labour’s Football Governance Bill is a landmark moment for safeguarding a financially sustainable and well-governed football pyramid. If we get it right, the prizes on offer for Ipswich and towns across the country are immense.”
