Football Governance Bill: Regulator legislation introduced in Westminster - but what does it mean for Scottish game?

A big step towards a football regulator is being made in England today, but as yet, it need not apply to Scotland

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has labelled it as a “historic moment for football fans”, as the UK government pushes on with its introduction of an independent football regulator when the Football Governance Bill is introduced to MPs at Westminster later today.

Thirteen months on from the Conservative government’s announcement to appoint a regulator following a fan-led review in 2022, the Bill will be formally put to parliament on Tuesday. It must then go through the due processes within Westminster before becoming law, and comes just 24 hours after Nottingham Forest were deducted four points in the Premier League for breaching profit and sustainability rules. Everton have already been sanctioned this season, while Manchester City are under investigation. “For too long some clubs have been abused by unscrupulous owners who get away with financial mismanagement, which at worst can lead to complete collapse,” Prime Minister Sunak has said. Bury and Macclesfield Town, further down the chain, have gone out of business in recent years. Other clubs are teetering on the brink.

What authority will a regulator have? It will be given ‘backstop powers’ to impose a financial settlement on the Premier League and the English Football League, which has taken on added significance given the two organisations still appear a long way off agreeing something themselves. Exactly what will trigger the regulator’s backstop powers – and precisely what those powers will be – is not yet clear, though. The Government also said the regulator would have the ability to fine clubs up to 10 per cent of turnover for the most serious breaches of licence terms. It will introduce stronger tests for owners and directors of clubs and have the power to disqualify those who persistently and wilfully fail to comply. Clubs will only be licensed to play in approved competitions, a move designed to prevent any repeat of what happened in April 2021 when the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ sought to join a Super League that did not have the backing of UEFA. The licence will also set standards for how clubs engage with their fans, requiring clubs to consult with fans on key off-field decisions.

Scottish football will not be directly affected by the Football Governance Bill passing through Westminster.

The Football Governance Bill, however, is only going to apply to the top five tiers of English football. It will have no say on how the game is run north of the border, although its inception could get the ball rolling faster for a similar arrangement in Scotland in due course.

Just last month, the issue of a Scottish football regulator was debated at Holyrood. MSPs discussed the issue after the SNP’s Ben MacPherson brought forward a motion via the Scottish Football Supporters Association, who had found within its members that there was a greater desire for transparency within clubs. Afterwards, Scottish sport minister Maree Todd could not move forward with the notion. “I cannot commit to the establishment of an independent regulator," Todd said on February 1. “ A lot of work needs to be done to understand how that would operate, how it would be appointed and funded and what the specific role would be. Equally, the door is not by any means closed on this and, if a strong case can be made as to why it was necessary and why other measures short of regulation couldn't be implemented, I am absolutely content to continue the conversation.”

That last comment from Todd is key. Now that the English football watchdog has been brought into Westminster, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. Given there is a degree of scrutiny on how the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and the Scottish Football Association (SFA) run the game, any disenchanted party can now point to what is being set up in England and argue that Scotland should have its own version.

Speaking to various stakeholders within the Scottish game, there is not unanimity. With 42 SPFL member clubs, so often the case is differing agendas. A regulator in Scottish football would likely increase the flow of money within the game from the top to the very bottom. But the amount of cash swimming around English football is far superior to the comparatively measly funds in Scotland. The costs of running a regulator would be high, and when every penny counts for pinched clubs, that has to be a consideration.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell believes the current governance of Scottish football is 'robust'

At the very top, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell has stated that the running of Scottish football is vigorous. Speaking to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee last December, Maxwell said: “From a Scottish FA perspective, we think that the governance in the game is robust.”

A football regulator would also bring with it tighter controls on who runs clubs in the Scottish game. A seismic moment in that regard came last month when American billionaire Bill Foley acquired a 25 per cent take in Hibs, after being given dispensation from the SFA to invest given he has an affiliation with Bournemouth, Lorient and Auckland. That move paves the way for future outside investment. Motherwell publicly appealed to potential suitors earlier in the season, while just this week reports emanated that Brighton and Brentford are eyeing up a similar tie-up with Scottish clubs to the one Burnley and Dundee have brokered. Such a transaction would require greater transparency and more stringent fit-and-proper tests under a watchdog. It would not just be newcomers going under the microscope, with current owners, shareholders and boards also facing potential checks.

For now, most of this need not apply to Scotland. But with the wheels already in motion after the Scottish parliamentary debate, those in favour of a regulation have been given further reason to bang the drum following a landmark day in Westminster.