Second Reading for Football Governance Bill

[basilrobbie]

..... Has been going on all afternoon ad has some way to go yet.

Main takeaways so far :

• the Secretary of State struggled a bit with the detail
• Tracey Crouch skewered the EPL....
• in fact the EPL has had a good kicking all day
• several MPs think the Government has got the financial distribution wrong (parachute payments)
• some think the remit of the Regulator should have been wider
• Southend got at least one mention

The Minister for Sport (Stuart Andrew) will wind the debate up - he will have a lot to summarise.

 

[Cricko]

My Football Governance Bill Speech​

• 
  

Wednesday, 24 April, 2024

• Local News

Yesterday, the House of Commons had the long awaited second reading of the Football Governance Bill. I was truly delighted to speak in the debate on behalf of Southend United and all its fans. As often happens in Parliament, the time MPs are allowed to contribute to proceedings gets shortened considerably as time goes on so I wanted to publish the full version of my speech, so constituents have the opportunity to read my thoughts on the highly anticipated Independent Regulator.
Please find my speech below:
"For too long, football clubs like my very own, Southend United, have been left at the mercy of unscrupulous owners who are either unwilling or unable to fulfil their obligations to the clubs and the fans.
For too long, fans have suffered having vital decisions made on their heritage with little to no consultation.
For too long, there has been no focus on sustainability and future planning, leaving many clubs just one bad season away from insolvency.
Whilst I would normally be totally against any regulation, especially regulation that affects an industry as successful as football, so I welcome the Government’s plans to introduce the Independent Regulator which will set out to address these issues, and put fans back where they belong, at the heart of football.
To date, I have mentioned Southend United 11 times in this place, and a majority of those have been to raise awareness of a club on the brink of oblivion.
Were it not for the heroics of those at the club, like Tom Lawrence, Kevin Maher and all the players who somehow delivered result after result each week, we could very well have lost 117 years of history. The Southend United saga exemplifies why we so desperately need intervention now, to stop situations like those we have seen at Southend, Reading, Derby, Bury, Torquay and elsewhere from ever being repeated.
Under the outgoing owner, the club has been subject to 19 winding up petitions in 25 years. This instability is exactly what I hope the bill’s strengthened Owners and Directors tests will address.
Worryingly, the current Premier League and the EFL Owners and Directors Test requires that any prospective owner must not have been subject to two or more bankruptcy events; whereas Part 4, Clause 37, Subclause 4 of the Bill removes any minimum number of events.
However, I would like to hope that instead of just punishing poor owners, the regulator will have a mechanism to reward good owners who are making a positive, tangible difference to their club and community. Southend United’s Community and Educational Trust’s social value to Southend and Southeast Essex communities was £10.3m and tremendous work that gives back to the community must be encouraged and rewarded appropriately.
Southend United has a truly remarkable fanbase, who despite everything, kept supporting their club no matter what, throughout the season, over 150,000 fans came to Roots Hall to show their support and almost 18,000 travelled away. These astonishing numbers mean that Southend United were the 3rd best supported club in the National League at home and the 2nd best supported club away.
Almost every club has a Supporters Trust, and we are lucky to have the hard-working Shrimpers Trust, led ably by Paul FitzGerald and James Schooley. But throughout football there is such a broad depth of knowledge from supporters, and I am delighted that the Regulator will require clubs to engage with fans on all heritage matters. Although it is my hope that many clubs will join Southend’s incoming new owners and appoint a Fan Advisory Board to ensure fans are given a formal voice on the operations of the club.
I also hope the Regulator will be given the power it requires to mediate in all matters between the Premier League, EFL and National League, not just financial ones. I of course refer to last weeks concerning news regarding the unscrupulous scrapping of FA Cup Replays.
Whilst it is hard to measure or describe such an abstract concept like “the magic of the FA Cup”, every single person hearing these words thinks of something different, but equally real. For Southend United, the magic of the FA Cup is best shown in 1979, when 31,033 spectators crammed into Roots Hall to witness their heroes take on European Champions, Liverpool. To put that into context, more than 11% of the entire population of Southend at the time, was at that game.
The FA Cup is the world’s oldest football competition, and for such monumental changes to be proposed with little to no consultation with Clubs in the National League is shameful. I would appreciate clarification from the Minister on this and how he intends for the Regulator to address similar issues in the future? Replays are a huge opportunity for smaller clubs bringing extra income and capturing the imagination of the community. Scrapping them to appease the top 7/8 teams in the Premier League with European commitments midweek shows a complete disregard for the rest of the pyramid.
The Regulator needs to be seen as an opportunity to safeguard the future of English football for generations to come, so our children and grandchildren can find the same joy and sense of community that we all have from our football teams.
I understand Regulator has its sceptics who believe there could be unintended consequences that could make English teams less competitive. To those people I say, put yourself in the position of a Southend United, a Torquay United or a Bury, in some cases hours away from ceasing to exist, and you would understand exactly why this legislation is needed and there is not a moment more to lose."

 

[basilrobbie]

She made some good points and it has been nice to see how she has really worked hard to understand the key issues. They would not have been on her radar, particularly, when she was elected.

Her idea about mechanisms for rewarding good performance / behaviour is interesting. Miles out of the scope of the Bill, and more like parenting than regulation. But I like the sentiment that lies behind it.

 

[Barry.C]

On Tuesday 23 April, the Independent Football Regulator bill got its Second Reading in the House of Commons. The Bill will now enter committee stage where it will be examined, and amendments can be made.

• For every £1000 of broadcasting income £888.42 goes to Premier League clubs and 15p (yes, you read that correctly) goes to National League North and South clubs.

 

[basilrobbie]

On Tuesday 23 April, the Independent Football Regulator bill got its Second Reading in the House of Commons. The Bill will now enter committee stage where it will be examined, and amendments can be made.

• For every £1000 of broadcasting income £888.42 goes to Premier League clubs and 15p (yes, you read that correctly) goes to National League North and South clubs.

It's a killer stat Barry, which makes an impression every time you see it. And still the EPL continues to try to squeeze more out for themselves and a handful of regular parachute clubs.

The Bill will be in Committee within the next fortnight or so, hopefully, and is still on progress to make it through the Commons and into the Lords by the Summer Recess.

 

[basilrobbie]

Committee starts with evidence sessions on Tuesday, I understand. Not something they used to do at this stage back in my day.

 

[basilrobbie]

Evidence sessions are now over, with really good contributions from fans of Arsenal, Reading and WBA yesterday. Anna Firth ask them a question about financial support, including for clubs in the NL.

Legislative scrutiny proper began yesterday afternoon, with the Committee covering Clauses 1-14 and the first three Schedules.

Four sessions planned for next week, spread over Tuesday and Thursday. I think they will deal with Parts 3 and 4 of the Bill, covering operating licences and the new Owner/Director Tests, if that is something you are interested in.

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

Source: Guardian

Plans for an independent regulator for English football will not proceed further through parliament, it is to be announced, with the football governance bill paused as a result of the general election.

The leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, is to confirm on Thursday the bills that will be expedited into law before parliament dissolves next week and the FGB is not expected to be on the list.

 

[Barry.C]

Great
Thanks Rishi
Made my week

 

[* ORM *]

It’ll have the same ‘teeth’ as many of the other UK regulators.

 

[southendkid]

Frustrating that the suprise election delays everything but doesn't this have cross-party support? If so hopefully this is a postponement rather than a cancellation.

 

[basilrobbie]

It's very disappointing, had the election been called even a week later it might have been different.

We regroup, and go again.

 

[Cricko]

Opps. Not much detail yet.

Football regulator will ensure 'fair financial flow' between Premier League and EFL

King’s Speech sets out Labour Government’s plan for long-running Football Governance Bill

www.standard.co.uk

 

[basilrobbie]

Opps. Not much detail yet.

Football regulator will ensure 'fair financial flow' between Premier League and EFL

King’s Speech sets out Labour Government’s plan for long-running Football Governance Bill

www.standard.co.uk

Cricko, I have a feeling you will recognise quite a lot of it when you do see it. Much of what the Tories brought forward in March is perfectly serviceable, especlally the stuff on sanction and investigations.

If the proposed Amendments sponsored by Steph Peacock at Committee were anything to go by :

• we should see some strengthening of the proposed rights for fans
• we might see a stronger emphasis on governance of clubs
• EDI issues could be a bit more prominent
• and the big issues will be backstop powers of intervention and financial distribution - as now

Uncle Ron needs to pull his finger out on the takeover. He won't fancy facing a Regulator with a bad attitude and a big stick. Wouldn't it be ironic if he did?