United Kingdom: government announces intention to establish an independent football regulator

The British government has announced its intention to introduce legislation to establish an independent football regulator, on 25/04/2022. This decision supports one of the main recommendations of the independent report on "Fan-Led Review of Football Governance: securing the game's future" (see below), commissioned by the UK Department of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, published on 24/11/2021.

This independent regulator will have the task, through the granting of licences, of controlling the financial viability of English professional clubs, as well as their proper governance, on pain of sanctions. The aim will be to encourage greater consideration for fans' opinions on major strategic decisions within clubs. No timetable has yet been revealed and Boris Johnson's government has simply indicated that a white paper on this subject in particular will be published in the summer of 2022.

"I am exceptionally pleased it (the government) has accepted or supported all the strategic recommendations of the review, including committing to legislation for a statutory independent…