FOOTBALL is by far the most- followed sport in Britain, with up to 25million fans watching every week.
Yet only a tiny sliver of them will know what is coming — or how this Labour government is about to score the mother of all own goals.
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It is no exaggeration to say that the plan for a state-licensed regulator to govern the top five flights in England threatens the very future of the Premier League.
As a Wycombe Wanderers season ticket holder, I do not spend much time going to games in the top tier.
Yet nobody can deny that the Premier League is one of Britain’s great global icons and the jewel in our sporting crown.
And it is now at risk of being suffocated into a shell of itself by a meddling quango bent on creating red tape instead of safeguarding the unique competitiveness of our beautiful game.
Armed with Robin Hood powers, the so-called Independent Football Regulator will be able to force the Premier League into a financial settlement with the lower divisions.
Cack-handed
That may sound like a nice idea — taking from the rich clubs to fund cash-strapped smaller teams — but getting it wrong could punch a hole in their budgets to the extent the league struggles to keep its world-beating status.
Maintaining Premier League clubs as giants of the international game is already at risk because of the Football Governance Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.
Only last year, Uefa’s general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy with serious concerns about the regulator’s scope.
Government interference in the autonomy of sport is banned by Uefa and Fifa.
Could this cack-handed legislation lead to Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal and our other top teams being banned from elite European competitions?
Redistributing club finances is just the tip of the iceberg, with the regulator given legal backing to stick its beak into almost every aspect of football.
Meanwhile, the teams — meaning the fans — will have to pay an annual levy to this quango for the privilege.
And who honestly believes that the regulator will stick to its given remit?
It is the same old story: The big boys of the Premier League might be able to afford extra costs piled on by the regulator, but what about those in the lower divisions already struggling?
Lord Goodman
Regulators always seek to expand their powers, and it should have no such trouble finding enthusiastic cheer- leaders on the Labour side.
When the bill was debated recently, backbenchers piled up endless amendments proposing to widen the quango’s scope to police everything from fan safety to reducing carbon footprints, advancing Net Zero and combatting modern slavery.
To its credit, the Government fought most of these off. But it is an alarming sign of the direction of travel.
Dodgy owners
It is the same old story: The big boys of the Premier League might be able to afford extra costs piled on by the regulator, but what about those in the lower divisions already struggling?
We football fans love a good moan, and below are ten complaints I fear will be levelled at the new regulator.
Any semblance of cross-party unity has been destroyed by Labour lining up one of their own donors to run the damn thing.
Lord Goodman
As you can see, the regulator risks being a source of misery to fans and a hammer blow to the football industry.
It is telling that the Government has itself inserted a mandatory review after five years — i.e. an exit ramp if it all goes wrong.
The original fan-led review was commissioned with the best of intentions — to weed out dodgy owners who risk pushing beloved community clubs into financial ruin.
But it is clear the once-noble aim to protect fans has been contorted out of all recognition with plans for this meddling regulator.
And any semblance of cross-party unity has been destroyed by Labour lining up one of their own donors to run the damn thing.
The goalposts have been well and truly moved.
COMPLAINTS THAT WILL BE LEVELLED AT NEW REGULATOR
1. “My club says it cannot buy the players it wants because of the financial constraints the regulator has put in place.”
2. “My club claims it cannot afford the levy the regulator will charge it for its services — and will have to sell players or raise ticket prices.”
3. “My club says it cannot afford the interest on unpaid levies and, again, it will have to sell players or raise ticket prices.”
4. “The regulator will not let my club spend to get promoted as so many clubs have before.”
5. “The regulator has taken my club’s relegation parachute payments into account in its calculations, but not the parachute payments of our local derby rivals.”
6. “My club, which plays in the Football League, says it is not getting enough money from the Premier League.”
7. “My club, which is a Premier League club, says it is now being forced to distribute too much down the pyramid and this is financially unsustainable.”
8. “The regulator is doing far too much on diversity, equality and inclusion. (Alternatively, the regulator is doing far too little on DEI).”
9. “The regulator should push my club much harder on ticket price consultation.”
10. Finally, and most obviously, “The regulator is not consulting sufficiently on any of these provisions.”