Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted on Thursday that she had enjoyed “incredibly constructive” talks with the Premier League over the Government’s new Football Governance Bill, despite concerns levied by the top flight clubs.
The Labour minister said the revived legislation “strikes the right balance”, after Uefa warned of possible sanctions against UK teams if a future new regulator is deemed to be interfering in the game.
The Bill was first tabled by the Conservatives before it lapsed with the calling of July’s election.
Reintroduced to Parliament on Thursday, it removes compliance with UK foreign and trade policy from the regulator’s scope in considering overseas takeovers of clubs, in an apparent climbdown forced by Uefa’s warning.
The European regulator had cautioned that unless the Bill was changed, England could be barred from playing in the Euro 2028 tournament that is being hosted by Britain and Ireland, and UK teams could be excluded from its club tournaments including the Champions League.
Uefa has also expressed concern about the regulator having the ability to force through a new deal if the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) cannot find agreement on a new revenue-sharing agreement from TV licensing rights.
The revised Bill says parachute payments - which are given to clubs relegated from the Premier League - will be taken into account in any TV cash settlement imposed by the regulator.
The Premier League expressed concern at the regulator’s “unprecedented and untested” powers to intervene in the distribution of top-flight revenue, and said this “could have a negative impact” on the league’s competitiveness and clubs’ investment in world-class talent.
But interviewed on LBC, Ms Nandy said: “I just say first of all that I've had incredibly constructive conversations with the Premier League, both with the executive and with the clubs as well. And I think we all want the same thing.
“There is a disagreement between us on certain aspects of how you achieve that, and there was a disagreement between the last government and the Premier League on that as well,” she said.
“But we believe that this bill strikes the right balance, to help the Premier League to thrive, to support the Championship clubs, and to make sure there's proper investment flowing into the grassroots.”
In contrast to the Premier League, EFL chairman Rick Parry welcomed the revised legislation. He said: “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.”
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative chairwoman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, also welcomed the Bill’s provisions for the regulator to ensure more engagement from fans and more racial diversity in the game.
“We look forward to holding the pre-appointment hearing for the Chair of the proposed new regulator to make sure the right person is at the helm to ensure the future health of our national game,” she said.
