Premier League: UK government may regulate English football – 2/23/2023

The UK government presented on Thursday (23) a plan to regulate elite English football (Premier League) in the coming years.

The key points of this plan involve the prohibition of PL members from joining other separatist leagues, in addition to making property rules more difficult to give greater “freedom” to fans.

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In addition, the British government’s regulatory body would assume complete control over the licensing process for clubs. Namely, overseeing tests for owners and directors.

The Football Association of England (FA) and the English Football League (EFL), responsible for the lower divisions, support the initiative. However, the Premier League (1st division), in an official statement, said that it seeks to implement more independent regulation in recent years, indicating that it would not need intervention.

Premier League clubs in the crosshairs of controversy

The regulator will introduce an “enhanced” test that will work alongside the current process implemented by the Premier League, Football League and Football Association.

According to the government, this will lead to “ensuring good club management, due to stronger due diligence on sources of wealth and a requirement for robust financial planning”.

The adequacy of testing Premier League owners and directors has been criticized in the past, most recently following Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle. Amnesty International urged the league to change the test to address human rights concerns, with the Saudi state accused of human rights abuses.

Recently, a bid for Manchester United by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of one of Qatar’s largest banks, has also raised concerns among human rights and LGBTQ+ groups.

Requirements that currently prohibit someone from becoming an owner or director of a Premier League club include criminal convictions, a ban by a sporting or professional body or breaches of important football regulations such as match-fixing.

KEY POINTS OF THIS CHANGE

• Prevent English clubs from participating in closed competitions, which are considered detrimental to the domestic game
• Avoid a repeat of financial failures seen at various clubs, most notably the Bury and Macclesfield collapses
• Introducing a stricter test for owners and directors to protect clubs and fans
• Give supporters the power to prevent owners from changing a club’s name, emblem and traditional kit colors
• Ensuring a fair distribution of money filters the English Premier League football pyramid