The interim report from the Govt’s Fan Led Review was published late last week and it looks very promising.
This is a very significant and positive moment for fans’ involvement in the governance of football and we should feel much encouraged. Doubtless there will be some pushback from the football authorities so fans will have to be vigilant and persuasive.
Specific highlights in the recommendations:
- Creation of an independent football regulator (IREF) to sit ‘above’ the FA, PL, EFL
- Recognition that clubs are not ordinary businesses but deserve protection like heritage assets
- Giving supporter organisations a ‘golden share’ vote over club heritage items like name, badge, colours etc
- Greater representation of fans in football governance
- Independent non-exec directors on club boards (not necessarily fan appointed / elected)
- Possibility of a licensing model for club owners – i.e. in order to own and run a club you have to follow the terms of this licence granted by IREF
One area it did not go as far as fans would have liked was on parachute payments where the FSA called for abolition – panel thinks a review necessary but recognises the problem they cause. You can see the Govt review interim report in the form of the full letter here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... Format.pdf
The FSA has published its evidence submission. You can read more about that here https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fan-led-revi ... egulation/ . Our reading of the interim report is that the review accepts a large proportion of the FSA recommendations.
STAR has taken part in this review, along with many other supporter groups. We look forward to the final report in October and some real changes for the good in our game to follow.
We appreciate that for many this post will be TL:DR, so – if you’ve got this far – it’s basically good news but the reforms are not in the back of the net yet.
Promising - the Fan Led Review
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Sutekh
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Great the possibility of another governing body to look forward to! If it does happen let’s hope it is given the power necessary to be able to stand up to football’s governing bodies (and their member clubs) as and when required and not just be a toothless “jobs for the boys” outfit that dodges decisions when anything contentious hoves into view.
Presume any such body would not be in conflict with FIFA/UEFA’s stance on “government interference”?
Any feedback on the inadequacies and issues of the various profit and sustainability rules?
Presume any such body would not be in conflict with FIFA/UEFA’s stance on “government interference”?
Any feedback on the inadequacies and issues of the various profit and sustainability rules?
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STAR Liaison
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As you probably know the Review came out on 25 November and today Tracey Crouch was answering questions to the DCMS select committee today, pushing back PL complaints about some the recommendations.
Here's a STAR take on it, as copied from the STAR website.
The Fan Led Review – what it means for Reading?
The background
Supporters have been calling for a long time for a review into the way English football is governed. When the European Super League proposal was canned in April 2021 the Government immediately brought forward the Review to which it had committed itself in its manifesto.
STAR was among many supporter organisations that gave evidence to the Review in the summer of 2022 and when its recommendations were published on 25th November we welcomed them.
It looks as if this Review will become the most important document in English football since the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report (1990) which recommended all-seater stadiums.
Tracey Crouch MP, the Review’s author, insists that the recommendations are to be taken as a whole, but already some Premier League owners are looking to cherry-pick, that is ignore or oppose the parts they don’t like.
What happens next? There will be a debate in public about the Review ahead of the promised legislative programme which will begin next year in the House of Lords. So far, members of the House of Commons appear united in support of the Review. As supporters we can encourage our MPs by writing to encourage them to support the Review recommendations as they pass through Parliament.
The key findings and what they mean for us (Reading FC / STAR)
Let’s start with two massive wins for the supporters’ movement. What has previously blocked any serious reform is the fact that ordinary businesses are essentially only responsible to their shareholders (i.e. in the main, their owners) so if the Cardiff City owner wants to change the club colours to red – well, he just did, for a few years. Or if the Wimbledon owner thinks moving to Milton Keynes is a good idea, well, he can.
The Review recommends two fundamental changes of principle that means clubs will no longer be treated just as ordinary businesses. Firstly, they will be given a status akin to listed buildings or other heritage assets – i.e. protected from unwanted cultural change. Secondly, they will have to operate under specialist business regulation, as do companies working in the financial sector. This will stop the financial madness that has afflicted the game for decades.
In order to make sure this works, the Review’s crucial recommendation is the creation of an Independent Regulator (IREF) – like an Ofcom or Ofgem. IREF will grant owners licences to operate professional football clubs – under certain conditions and to certain standards. The licensing system will apply to the Premier League, The EFL and National League Division One (116 clubs in all). IREF will be funded by a % levy on clubs’ TV income.
So, the governance of a club like Reading will be much more closely monitored and enforced – and not by the EFL and its inevitably vested interest) but by an independent and expert body. There will be ‘real-time’ financial monitoring that should nip crises like 2014, 2017 and 2020 in the bud and clubs will operate under a Code of Football Governance (based on the Code used by Sport England).
The so-called ‘Owners and Directors’ tests will be sharpened up and made consistent across the leagues. Separate, and more relevant, tests will be applied to owners and to directors (and also to any officials, executives and consultants of significance). And the Owners’ test will work a little like an MOT – you’ll have to re-apply every three years. These tests will apply to existing owners, as well as future owners. Given that Reading was criticised in the Review for being an “obvious example of poor governance … appear(ing) to lack proper board structures” it’s likely that IREF will take an early look at us.
As part of better governance and closer oversight each licensed club will be required to have 30% of its Board made up of independent Non-Executive Directors (NED) and to consult with a Shadow Board of supporter representatives – who will have access to all but the most confidential of information. Given that the Reading Board is only about five-strong and rarely meets, as far as we know, the NED requirement may be of less importance than the Shadow Board. It’s envisaged that the Supporters’ Trust (i.e. STAR in our case) will essentially form the Shadow Board and that principle has already been agreed at Bolton and Accrington Stanley. It’s likely to replace the Structured Dialogue meetings that STAR, along with only 11 other League club Trusts, already hold – and be more regular.
The cultural heritage of every licensed club – its name, home kit, badge, geographic location – will be protected by a Golden Share, held by a Community Benefit Society (i.e. STAR in our case). Any proposal by the club to change a ‘protected item’ would have to be done in consultation with the Golden Share holder and a democratic process involving registered supporters (not necessarily Trust members). Together these would constitute a barrier to unwelcome changes like Hull City’s idea to rename as Hull Tigers or Cardiff City swapping blue shirts for red shirts.
The Review proposes greater solidarity (or subsidy) payments coming from the Premier League to the rest of the football pyramid. It proposes a ‘Stamp Duty-like’ levy on incoming transfers from other PL clubs or players from abroad – thus making EFL players slightly more attractive in cost terms.
The Review has asked the PL and EFL to resolve the disputed issue of parachute payments urgently and, if they don’t, to accede to independent arbitration. The Review also advocates standard and compulsory clauses in player contracts to change players’ wages when their club is promoted to or relegated from the Premier League.
Two other proposals that won’t affect us yet! The Review recommends a pilot test in League Two / National League of allowing alcohol sales during the match and to be consumed at seats. It also asks that clubs promoted from the National League be given three years grace to replace an artificial pitch with a grass one. Sutton had to replace theirs at great cost over the summer.
Conclusion
We know from feedback around the supporters’ groups networks that conversations are already happening between trusts and clubs on the Review findings. STAR wrote to Dayong Pang, the Reading CEO, on 29 November, seeking a first meeting on this subject and we will certainly include it on the Agenda of our next Structured Dialogue meeting.
The mood amongst the supporters’ movement is very bullish – but also wary of the likely pushback from some PL clubs and their lawyers. The Leeds United CEO is on record as comparing the Fan Led Review to Mao’s Great Leap Forward which killed 15 million people! https://thefsa.org.uk/news/leeds-united ... es-really/
The EFL however have accepted the case for IREF (the independent regulator) which is great news and show that, unusually, the FA, PL and EFL are not all stuck together behind a no-change agenda.
The Fan Led Review really is the big one. If it doesn’t happen – in terms of being accepted wholesale and passed into legislation – the clubs at our level really will be screwed over the next few years.
What can you do? Do email your MP and get your support for the Review on their radar. Do think about joining STAR and thus supporting the supporters’ movement. Do think about volunteering to help STAR – or even getting on the STAR Board. If and when all this happens, we are going to need more hands on deck.
This is the time, at last.
STAR 6 December 2021
Please also see another take on the Fan Led Review with more detail on what’s in it by Ben Thomas on the Tilehurst End https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/
Here's a STAR take on it, as copied from the STAR website.
The Fan Led Review – what it means for Reading?
The background
Supporters have been calling for a long time for a review into the way English football is governed. When the European Super League proposal was canned in April 2021 the Government immediately brought forward the Review to which it had committed itself in its manifesto.
STAR was among many supporter organisations that gave evidence to the Review in the summer of 2022 and when its recommendations were published on 25th November we welcomed them.
It looks as if this Review will become the most important document in English football since the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report (1990) which recommended all-seater stadiums.
Tracey Crouch MP, the Review’s author, insists that the recommendations are to be taken as a whole, but already some Premier League owners are looking to cherry-pick, that is ignore or oppose the parts they don’t like.
What happens next? There will be a debate in public about the Review ahead of the promised legislative programme which will begin next year in the House of Lords. So far, members of the House of Commons appear united in support of the Review. As supporters we can encourage our MPs by writing to encourage them to support the Review recommendations as they pass through Parliament.
The key findings and what they mean for us (Reading FC / STAR)
Let’s start with two massive wins for the supporters’ movement. What has previously blocked any serious reform is the fact that ordinary businesses are essentially only responsible to their shareholders (i.e. in the main, their owners) so if the Cardiff City owner wants to change the club colours to red – well, he just did, for a few years. Or if the Wimbledon owner thinks moving to Milton Keynes is a good idea, well, he can.
The Review recommends two fundamental changes of principle that means clubs will no longer be treated just as ordinary businesses. Firstly, they will be given a status akin to listed buildings or other heritage assets – i.e. protected from unwanted cultural change. Secondly, they will have to operate under specialist business regulation, as do companies working in the financial sector. This will stop the financial madness that has afflicted the game for decades.
In order to make sure this works, the Review’s crucial recommendation is the creation of an Independent Regulator (IREF) – like an Ofcom or Ofgem. IREF will grant owners licences to operate professional football clubs – under certain conditions and to certain standards. The licensing system will apply to the Premier League, The EFL and National League Division One (116 clubs in all). IREF will be funded by a % levy on clubs’ TV income.
So, the governance of a club like Reading will be much more closely monitored and enforced – and not by the EFL and its inevitably vested interest) but by an independent and expert body. There will be ‘real-time’ financial monitoring that should nip crises like 2014, 2017 and 2020 in the bud and clubs will operate under a Code of Football Governance (based on the Code used by Sport England).
The so-called ‘Owners and Directors’ tests will be sharpened up and made consistent across the leagues. Separate, and more relevant, tests will be applied to owners and to directors (and also to any officials, executives and consultants of significance). And the Owners’ test will work a little like an MOT – you’ll have to re-apply every three years. These tests will apply to existing owners, as well as future owners. Given that Reading was criticised in the Review for being an “obvious example of poor governance … appear(ing) to lack proper board structures” it’s likely that IREF will take an early look at us.
As part of better governance and closer oversight each licensed club will be required to have 30% of its Board made up of independent Non-Executive Directors (NED) and to consult with a Shadow Board of supporter representatives – who will have access to all but the most confidential of information. Given that the Reading Board is only about five-strong and rarely meets, as far as we know, the NED requirement may be of less importance than the Shadow Board. It’s envisaged that the Supporters’ Trust (i.e. STAR in our case) will essentially form the Shadow Board and that principle has already been agreed at Bolton and Accrington Stanley. It’s likely to replace the Structured Dialogue meetings that STAR, along with only 11 other League club Trusts, already hold – and be more regular.
The cultural heritage of every licensed club – its name, home kit, badge, geographic location – will be protected by a Golden Share, held by a Community Benefit Society (i.e. STAR in our case). Any proposal by the club to change a ‘protected item’ would have to be done in consultation with the Golden Share holder and a democratic process involving registered supporters (not necessarily Trust members). Together these would constitute a barrier to unwelcome changes like Hull City’s idea to rename as Hull Tigers or Cardiff City swapping blue shirts for red shirts.
The Review proposes greater solidarity (or subsidy) payments coming from the Premier League to the rest of the football pyramid. It proposes a ‘Stamp Duty-like’ levy on incoming transfers from other PL clubs or players from abroad – thus making EFL players slightly more attractive in cost terms.
The Review has asked the PL and EFL to resolve the disputed issue of parachute payments urgently and, if they don’t, to accede to independent arbitration. The Review also advocates standard and compulsory clauses in player contracts to change players’ wages when their club is promoted to or relegated from the Premier League.
Two other proposals that won’t affect us yet! The Review recommends a pilot test in League Two / National League of allowing alcohol sales during the match and to be consumed at seats. It also asks that clubs promoted from the National League be given three years grace to replace an artificial pitch with a grass one. Sutton had to replace theirs at great cost over the summer.
Conclusion
We know from feedback around the supporters’ groups networks that conversations are already happening between trusts and clubs on the Review findings. STAR wrote to Dayong Pang, the Reading CEO, on 29 November, seeking a first meeting on this subject and we will certainly include it on the Agenda of our next Structured Dialogue meeting.
The mood amongst the supporters’ movement is very bullish – but also wary of the likely pushback from some PL clubs and their lawyers. The Leeds United CEO is on record as comparing the Fan Led Review to Mao’s Great Leap Forward which killed 15 million people! https://thefsa.org.uk/news/leeds-united ... es-really/
The EFL however have accepted the case for IREF (the independent regulator) which is great news and show that, unusually, the FA, PL and EFL are not all stuck together behind a no-change agenda.
The Fan Led Review really is the big one. If it doesn’t happen – in terms of being accepted wholesale and passed into legislation – the clubs at our level really will be screwed over the next few years.
What can you do? Do email your MP and get your support for the Review on their radar. Do think about joining STAR and thus supporting the supporters’ movement. Do think about volunteering to help STAR – or even getting on the STAR Board. If and when all this happens, we are going to need more hands on deck.
This is the time, at last.
STAR 6 December 2021
Please also see another take on the Fan Led Review with more detail on what’s in it by Ben Thomas on the Tilehurst End https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/
Last edited by STAR Liaison on 07 Dec 2021 17:33, edited 1 time in total.
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Sutekh
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Excellent news, I think, let’s hope it works out like it’s proposed. Be good to get some timescales for the various stages through to this being enacted.
PS - presume the opening paragraphs should be set in 2021
PS - presume the opening paragraphs should be set in 2021
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STAR Liaison
- Hob Nob Regular
- Posts: 1408
- Joined: 14 Apr 2004 09:58
Sutekh Excellent news, I think, let’s hope it works out like it’s proposed. Be good to get some timescales for the various stages through to this being enacted.
PS - presume the opening paragraphs should be set in 2021
Yeah, you're right.
But it might come back in 2022 - just covering that possibility
Great news on the booze. Maidenhead United, anyone?
A very positive step and one which should be welcomed by all fans of all clubs.
That isn't to say that there aren't concerns, but as always, the devil are in the details.
A key thing is going to be who (I presume it will be a single person as with OFCOM etc) will be the IREF (or if it is a "body" who is on that body); any clarity on how the individual/s is/are going to be chosen, length of tenure, and crucially, what teeth they will have if there are breaches of the standards set?
For example, what if a club's ownership fail the enhanced owners and directors test; will the owners have to relinquish ownership of the club? There are dangers here - if the owner is forced to sell but doesn't (or says there are no interested parties willing to buy at a price the owner is willing to sell) then what is proposed to happen? Or would there be provisions for clubs to - in effect - be taken over by the Government and then sold into public ownership, ie: a fan led takeover, in the same way the National Trust takes over Country Houses when the owners owe death duties?
That isn't to say that there aren't concerns, but as always, the devil are in the details.
A key thing is going to be who (I presume it will be a single person as with OFCOM etc) will be the IREF (or if it is a "body" who is on that body); any clarity on how the individual/s is/are going to be chosen, length of tenure, and crucially, what teeth they will have if there are breaches of the standards set?
For example, what if a club's ownership fail the enhanced owners and directors test; will the owners have to relinquish ownership of the club? There are dangers here - if the owner is forced to sell but doesn't (or says there are no interested parties willing to buy at a price the owner is willing to sell) then what is proposed to happen? Or would there be provisions for clubs to - in effect - be taken over by the Government and then sold into public ownership, ie: a fan led takeover, in the same way the National Trust takes over Country Houses when the owners owe death duties?
Mr Angry A very positive step and one which should be welcomed by all fans of all clubs.
That isn't to say that there aren't concerns, but as always, the devil are in the details.
A key thing is going to be who (I presume it will be a single person as with OFCOM etc) will be the IREF (or if it is a "body" who is on that body); any clarity on how the individual/s is/are going to be chosen, length of tenure, and crucially, what teeth they will have if there are breaches of the standards set?
For example, what if a club's ownership fail the enhanced owners and directors test; will the owners have to relinquish ownership of the club? There are dangers here - if the owner is forced to sell but doesn't (or says there are no interested parties willing to buy at a price the owner is willing to sell) then what is proposed to happen? Or would there be provisions for clubs to - in effect - be taken over by the Government and then sold into public ownership, ie: a fan led takeover, in the same way the National Trust takes over Country Houses when the owners owe death duties?
Ofcom has over 900 FTE, it isn’t just Mel Dawes!
Share your concerns/uncertainty over ongoing regulation of owners.
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The Royal Forester
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I am sure that some of the proposals will contravene FIFA's "Government interference" regulations, which could lead to England being kicked out of International Competitions, if not FIFA itself. As some Welsh teams also play in England, would that affect the Welsh FA as well?
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Donny Ironside
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Can we review Club1871? The majority of fans want them out
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STAR Liaison
- Hob Nob Regular
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Mr Angry A very positive step and one which should be welcomed by all fans of all clubs.
That isn't to say that there aren't concerns, but as always, the devil are in the details.
A key thing is going to be who (I presume it will be a single person as with OFCOM etc) will be the IREF (or if it is a "body" who is on that body); any clarity on how the individual/s is/are going to be chosen, length of tenure, and crucially, what teeth they will have if there are breaches of the standards set?
For example, what if a club's ownership fail the enhanced owners and directors test; will the owners have to relinquish ownership of the club? There are dangers here - if the owner is forced to sell but doesn't (or says there are no interested parties willing to buy at a price the owner is willing to sell) then what is proposed to happen? Or would there be provisions for clubs to - in effect - be taken over by the Government and then sold into public ownership, ie: a fan led takeover, in the same way the National Trust takes over Country Houses when the owners owe death duties?
Tracey Crouch imagines the chair of IREF will be somebody with a financial regulation background and that IREF would start with a staff of 30-50.
Not sure what would happen if an existing owner were to fail the owners test but imagine there would be safeguards and restraints in place to either reduce their influence or smooth their exit. You're right to point out the danger of a "buyer's strike" - i.e. foreign investors might think English football not worth the hassle and taking their roubles or whatever to Italy or wherever.
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STAR Liaison
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The Royal Forester I am sure that some of the proposals will contravene FIFA's "Government interference" regulations, which could lead to England being kicked out of International Competitions, if not FIFA itself. As some Welsh teams also play in England, would that affect the Welsh FA as well?
Both these concerns are fully addressed. It's an independently appointed regulator not a government appointed regulator so it won't be seen as Govt interference.
The Welsh clubs that historically play in the upper English pyramid (top 5 divisions) are being treated as if they are English for the purposes of the Review. The Welsh FA are content with this point.
Personally I would welcome greater fan involvement in the ownership of football clubs as a consequence of these proposals, even if that meant fewer Billionaires using clubs as their own ego trip/sports washing/insurance policy.
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