Government tell Premier League to support football pyramid or face independent regulator

The Premier League will be forced to give away hundreds of millions to the wider football pyramid if it cannot come up with a fair alternative by the summer, the government has warned.

Such an agreement was described as “some way off” in ministers’ formal response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, leaving open the possibility that legislation will be written up to give an independent regulator the authority to seize up to 25 per cent of the competition’s broadcast revenues - and possibly 10 per cent of transfer fees - for the benefit of the wider game.

Sports minister Nigel Huddleston confirmed a White Paper will be drawn up this summer to detail exactly how an independent regulator would operate, amping up the pressure on the Premier League to finally strike a deal with the English Football League. The issue has been rumbling for years but reached new levels with the start of the pandemic and the ill-fated Super League plan - which prompted this review.

“The message to the Premier League is quite clear,” Huddleston said. “They need to act sooner rather than later because, otherwise, it will be forced on them through the regulator.”

The length of time a White Paper could take might bring the process into the next government, however, meaning they would not be bound by manifesto - and potentially undermining Huddleston’s warning.

This was an issue raised in parliament by shadow sports minister Jeff Smith, who said: “The announcement today will do nothing to break the impasse on redistribution of funding.”

Smith’s position was supported by the Football Supporters’ Association, who pointed out how much had already been lost in the wait for movement.

“Since the government committed to a fan-led review of football governance in its 2019 manifesto we have seen: Macclesfield Town disappear, ‘Project Big Picture’, the European Super League, ownership controversy at many clubs, billionaire owners sabotage Premier League reform and existential crises at Coventry United, Derby County and Oldham Athletic, amongst others.

“Each day drafting White Papers is another day when a club might cease to exist. Another day for a dodgy owner to get their hooks into a club. Another day for remote billionaires to try and create European Super League 2.0. The FSA urges the government to move fast and legislate now.”

Huddleston nevertheless defended the timescale in a press conference with journalists on Monday afternoon, arguing that rushing the process could work against its intentions.

“If we implemented it tomorrow, we could have exactly the opposite impact of what we are intending, i.e. making sure that clubs can survive and that they are financially sustainable,” he said.

“Because this licensing will come with some obligations and requirements and we need to make sure the clubs know what that is before we get it in legislation.

“We want to move as quickly as possible but we do need to make sure that we do this carefully.”

Huddleston meanwhile ruled out the Football Association serving as an independent regulator, despite some mooting that as a possibility on Monday morning.

“The FA has already got some demons it is dealing with and tackling its own governance structural challenges and is making movement. I think it would be difficult to imagine the circumstances where it would, at least currently, fit the criteria that’s needed to become the independent regulator.”

The Premier League project they will have committed £1.23billion to the EFL and the wider pyramid in the three years up to May, and again stressed their opposition to an independent regulator on Monday.