Today's Scorecard column in the Financial Times has a take on the prospective Independent Football Regulator (has IReF been discarded, it seemed so tritely perfect)
Can a watchdog fix English football?
https://archive.ph/UBv8e
Will England’s football regulator root out bad owners?
Rishi Sunak, Britain’s beleaguered prime minister, used cheesy memes to celebrate the advent of English football’s new independent regulator. The government introduced legislation to parliament this week, bringing the new body a big step closer.
The key stated aims of the imaginatively titled “Independent Football Regulator” are: “To improve financial sustainability of clubs, ensure financial resilience across the leagues and to safeguard the heritage of English football.”
But can it really do any of the above?
One area where it hopes to make an impact is through tougher tests for would-be owners and directors. A new licensing system will come in too, to help keep existing owners in check by setting minimum standards on various metrics, such as fan engagement. On paper, it all sounds good.
But in practice, the legal and regulatory experts we’ve been speaking to are unconvinced. For a case study on all these issues, you can read our deep dive into the situation at Reading FC in England’s third tier.
For one, raising the bar for new owners does nothing for those already in the game. Second, the bar might be moved higher, but it will probably equate to things such as “Is this person a convicted criminal?“, rather than “Do they know how to run a football club?”
And thirdly, circumstances change. A new owner may arrive with bulging bank accounts and the best intentions, but a downturn in their core industry — say, the Chinese property market — could quickly erode their ability to keep a club afloat.
What about rooting out “unsuitable” owners, as the legislation for the IFR has promised to do, through an ongoing licensing system? Again, it appears great in theory. But how would it really work?
Let’s say a club owner had repeatedly overspent on players, then failed to pay the bills and racked up huge amounts of debt. Would a football regulator be able to force the sale of what is a private company? Would the British government be willing to take control of a club while it searches for a buyer? And would the British taxpayer be on the hook for player wages in the meantime?
Even if the regulator was willing to step in as an owner of last resort, it could fall foul of global rules. Simon Leaf, head of sports law at Mishcon de Reya told Scoreboard: “One suspects that any such move by an independent regulator may also raise eyebrows within Fifa — particularly given the strong regulations that it has with respect to state and outside interests interfering in club affairs.”
It’s very early days for the UK government’s attempt to get a grip on football’s bad habits. Perhaps it will help nudge owners in the right direction when it comes to balancing the books.
But without a fundamental rethink of football’s basic business model, right now it is hard to see how regulation can change the score.