Fans will end up paying for football regulator, Tories warn
Fans of clubs outside the Premier League should expect ticket price rises following the approval of a football regulator, Shadow Sport Minister Louie French has warned.
The Championship, League One and League Two are all heavily loss-making but could face a bill of almost £50m towards the operation of the Independent Regulator for English Football.
“These smaller clubs, which already operate on small budgets and face higher bills due to the incompetence of this Labour government, will likely have no choice but to pass these additional costs onto fans via ticket prices,” French told CityAM.
“This is why the Conservatives fought to limit the cost and size of Labour’s new regulator, to have greater transparency over its costs to football in the future and to exempt smaller clubs from paying the levy.
“We believe that the government has scored another terrible own goal, so a future Conservative government will urgently review this new state regulator with a view to taking politics out of football again.”
Premier League clubs are expected to foot the vast majority of the projected £125m cost for the first decade of the regulator, which some of them actively opposed. They also face £50m in additional annual National Insurance payments as a result of recent tax changes.
The incoming regulator’s main responsibility will be to ensure the financial sustainability of the domestic game. Its creation was the key plank of the Football Governance Bill, which was passed in a vote of MPs on Tuesday.
“I am proud to be part of the winning team that has put our fans back on the pitch at the heart of the game, where they belong,” said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Regulator ‘brings opportunities and costs’
League One club Lincoln City have been preparing for the introduction of a football regulator for more than a year and CEO Liam Scully called the vote “a pivotal step toward safeguarding the long-term future of our game”.
He told CityAM: “Throughout the consultation on the Bill, it has been maintained that the regulator’s expenditure and the resulting levy will be proportionate. We also understand that the regulator will work constructively with clubs to help us adjust to the new regime, which we take in good faith.
“Naturally, there will be points of tension and elements that even the best-run clubs may find challenging. However, we must view this as a comprehensive package of reform and work collaboratively to embrace the changes it brings.”
Campaign group Fair Game said: “In reality, what this will mean is that for a minimal cost, football will get a level of protection from rogue owners and mismanagement the likes of which we have never seen before.”
Sport finance expert Professor Rob Wilson told CityAM: “The introduction of the regulator is the most significant structural reform in English football governance since the inception of the Premier League. Like anything, it will bring both opportunities and costs.
“We must also remember that this isn’t an academic exercise. It’s a response to years of poor financial stewardship, governance failures and near (and full) collapse scenarios with some clubs on the brink of existence.”
He added: “The Premier League will see this as government overreach and a threat to global competitiveness (I happen to agree).
“The Championship will see more turbulence (win or lose) as clubs tend to be more reliant on benefactor funding and will need to adapt quickly. Further down it might level the playing field a little bit and prevent financial ruin for clubs chasing promotion.”