UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has restated his commitment to bringing in an independent regulator for English football who can force the Premier League to share more of its income with the rest of the professional game.
Sunak was at a “PM Connect” question-and-answer session at Accrington Stanley’s Wham Stadium on Monday when the League Two club’s owner Andy Holt asked if he still supported the introduction of a regulator and, if he does, will it have the power to break the “impasse” that exists between the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) on the matter of a new, more equitable financial distribution between the leagues.
Sunak, who was clearly expecting the question, started by thanking Holt for hosting the event and reminding the crowd of his love for football and “lifelong” support for Southampton. This, he said, means he understands how important clubs are to their communities.
Then, having acknowledged the Premier League’s status as “an incredibly important asset of our country”, Sunak told Holt — and every other EFL club owner — exactly what he wanted to hear.
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“It’s important that the incredible financial success that we enjoy at the top end of football is shared throughout the football pyramid so clubs like (Accrington Stanley) can benefit from that and we can nurture the sport for generations to come,” said Sunak.
“That’s why the regulator will have the powers, if needed, to impose financial redistribution settlements.
“Now, my hope is that the Premier League and the EFL can come to some appropriate arrangement themselves — that would be preferable.
“But, ultimately, if that’s not possible, the regulator will be able to step in and do that to ensure we have a fair distribution of resources across the football pyramid, of course promoting the Premier League but supporting football in communities like this up and down the country. It’s a sport we all love and we’ve got to protect it properly for the future.”
The creation of an independent regulator for football has been on the cards ever since it was the main recommendation of a fan-led review into English football’s governance conducted by former sports minister Tracey Crouch in 2021.
The government commissioned the review following financial crises at several EFL clubs, most notably Bury, and the widespread shock caused by the attempt of the Premier League’s six richest clubs to join a breakaway European Super League.
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The government first announced its intention to implement the review’s recommendations in April 2022 but only fully committed to legislation last November, when a “football governance bill” was included in the King’s Speech at the state opening of the new session of parliament.
The first reading of that bill is expected in the coming weeks and, as it has cross-party support, its passage is a formality.
However, there is no such unanimity when it comes to the regulator and its powers in English football, with many Premier League clubs still opposed to its introduction and the idea that it will have “backstop powers” to impose a new financial settlement on the game.
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A debate has raged for decades about how much money should flow down English football’s pyramid structure, with the 1992 creation of the Premier League being the most significant moment in that debate as it was caused by the leading clubs’ desire to keep more of the burgeoning media rights income for themselves.
British governments have traditionally stayed out of that argument, leaving it to the leagues and the game’s governing body, the Football Association (FA), to sort out, but it is the repeated failure of English football to agree on financial and governance issues that has resulted in the imminent arrival of independent regulation.
A draft proposal for a new financial distribution between the leagues, the so-called “new deal for football”, has existed for months but the Premier League’s board has not been able to put it to a vote of the top flight’s shareholders, the clubs, because there is still no agreement among them on how the extra solidarity money for the EFL will be funded.
This has greatly frustrated the EFL and Sunak’s comments suggest the government is not impressed, either.
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(Robin Jones/Getty Images)