I have been contacted by constituents regarding the Ownership of Football Clubs.
As the Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South, I have included below my response:
I believe that football governance must keep evolving if it is to keep pace with the challenges of the modern game. The global commercial attractiveness of English football is something to be celebrated, but not at the expense of supporters and their communities.
With regard to the ownership of clubs, it is a priority for the football authorities to ensure a robust Owners' and Directors' Test is in place and that due diligence is carried out on owners. New owners are obliged to meet the Premier League or English Football League board and provide details of the sources and sufficiency of the funding they have in place. Clubs must also submit detailed financial information each season, including a breakdown of revenue in appropriate categories such as gate receipts, sponsorship and advertising, broadcasting rights, commercial income and other income. Taken together, the measures within the existing regulatory framework have helped to curb club debt and greatly improve the financial state of our football clubs.
Following the regrettable announcement that clubs from across Europe signed up to proposals for a European Super League, I welcomed the Government's action of triggering a fan-led review of football governance, as committed to in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto. As you might be aware, former Sports Minister and Chair of the Review, Tracey Crouch MP, has written to the Culture Secretary outlining her initial findings. I am sure you will be pleased to hear that she has already identified that football clubs play a "critical social, civic and cultural role in their local communities" and sometimes need to be protected, even from their owners, "who are, after all, simply the custodians of a community asset". For further information on the review's initial findings, please search: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fan-led-review-of-football-governance-interim-findings-and-recommendations
