The Government is planning to legislate to implement the findings of Tracey Crouch’s Fan-Led Review of Football Governance. This calls for major changes in the way English football is run, with the Government imposing an independent regulator (IREF) and mandating major changes to the way clubs are managed. However well-intentioned, implementing these proposals would be a mistake.
What fun. I don't know about well-intentioned though, this sounds much more like bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy.
Under the proposed regulatory model, clubs will be required to submit a wealth of information – including detailed business models and regular financial updates. There will be strict limits on permissible losses. Clubs will have to restructure their boards and put equality, diversity and inclusion programmes in place. They will have to set up arrangements for a fan body to hold a ‘golden share’ giving veto powers over certain club decisions, and separate arrangements for a ‘shadow board’ to be consulted regularly.
And let us not forget important issues such as the calorie content of the pies and Net Zero targets. No floodlights for those evening matches.
7 comments:
"a proposed new football regulator"
A sort of super-referee, with all the traditionally ascribed virtues magnified appropriately.
I have no particular love or hate for football. I do think though that the idea of a regulator and regulations is yet one more step along the march through the institutions. Football, loved by many of the lower classes, is being 'tamed'. The elite have seized the safety argument to require all seater stadiums, now they are focusing on the administration.
Only a government could come up with an idea which is the equivalent of asserting that black is white. Fanatics are not owners and could simply switch the focus of their obsession to another club if they do not like what the club is doing, or since some large clubs are publicly traded they could actually buy part ownership on the exchanges.
Since large sports clubs these days are little more than money laundering operations this intrusion could be a play to limit the criminality.
I'm not remotely interested in football but am interesting in keeping the Government out of as many things as possible. A war lost long ago
I would like to see the entire football body reject any such laws out of hand and tell the Government to stick it. If they did that, they would be the first targeted group ever to do so, rather than just bending over
I'm not sure what the consequences would be, but I bet it would be a pleasure to watch
If they start imposing race quotas an awful lot of black players will need to be sacked.
And maybe they'll insist on sacking many of those foreign managers - they are obviously far above quota. Goodbye, ye Germans and Spaniards.
The fans won't like it.
Where's ya specs Government Regulator are ya blind?
Sam - plus the ability to change the rules if awkward clubs keep winning.
DJ - yes, tamed and possibly even gentrified.
TR - good point, it certainly could be about criminality.
Bucko - I'd like to watch that too and I know which side I'd support.
dearieme - this aspect makes me wonder how far the idea will go, but maybe quotas will simply be ignored because reasons.
Tammly - that were never a penalty.
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