English football could be set for seismic change with the appointment of a new regulator in the New Year.
According to the Daily Mail, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has signed off on the introduction of a regulator for the English game just two months after it had looked dead and buried under former PM Liz Truss, something that was reportedly welcomed by Premier League owners.
The need for football to have an independent regulator was highlighted after the Government's fan-led review into football governance, a review that was spearheaded by Conservative MP Tracey Crouch in the wake of the failed plot to give rise to the European Super League, a plot of which Liverpool were an agitator before renouncing their intentions and working with the Spirit of Shankly supporters group and other fan groups to create a Supporters Board that had the power to reject moves by ownership to join a breakaway competition in the future.
The Daily Mail report that the regulations could come into law by 2024 and will see an independent regulatory body created which would have directors and considerable staff overseeing 'the most contentious issues in the game'.
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The regulator would seek greater fan representation, a more equitable share of money flowing from the Premier League to the EFL and stricter owners and directors tests in order to prevent the kind of situations that have transpired at Derby County, Bury and Macclesfield Town in recent seasons.
One area that the regulator is also understood to be placing a focus on will be introducing stricter measures when it comes to the leveraging of state sponsorship through ownership, an accusation that has been laid at door of owners of both Manchester City and Newcastle United who have leveraged their simpatico relationships in the MENA region to yield higher commercial revenues through improved sponsorship deals.
The Daily Mail report does state, however, that there will be no shackles on investment into football clubs from areas that diverges from British foreign policy, meaning that allies of the UK, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be free to invest in English clubs, with private sector investment from both countries having been linked with a Liverpool takeover in recent weeks.
The EFL have called for greater funds to trickle down the pyramid, with parachute payments likely to be phased out through reform in time and more of the Premier League's financial might to be taken off the 20 clubs, with the so-called 'big six' of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur likely to have to carry the largest financial burden.
Liverpool and Manchester United were a driving force behind Project Big Picture back in 2020. The aim of that particular move centred around more money being made available to the EFL and the English football pyramid but the Premier League becoming a smaller, 18-team league, with competitions such as the Carabao Cup and Community Shield abolished to free up time in the calendar for the biggest clubs to organise their own exhibition games and tournaments to reach their global audiences and tap into new revenue streams.
Those plans were rejected, much to the dismay of some of the owners of the big six clubs, Henry among them, and the inability to bring about structural reform in English football is understood to have been a factor in the decisions of both Liverpool and Manchester United owners to open themselves up to expressions of interest from any willing bidders with deep pockets who wished to acquire a full shareholding of either club. In the instance of Liverpool, however, their openness to bids is more explorative, sources have told the ECHO, with the preferred outcome said to be a 'strategic partner' that would provide scalable capital to find new areas of growth.
The step change by Liverpool in working with fan groups to create a Supporters' Board, which would also have to give consent for any major changes in tradition such as moving stadium, was done so following the publishing of the Crouch Report earlier this year, with the Reds the club who have gone furthest so far from those within the big six to achieving one of the Report's major aims; greater fan representation.
Stricter financial controls on things such as sponsorship deals aided by state ownership of clubs is something that would benefit Liverpool, with the Reds the club likely to see the healthiest balance sheet when it comes to profit among the 20 Premier League clubs when their financial results are published in early 2023. Liverpool have been successful at leveraging their success and making inroads with their global fan base, but Manchester City's ever-growing financial muscle and the emergence of Newcastle United who look set to make it a 'big seven' has created greater challenges for the Liverpool owners.
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