Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Paragraph: 21
Premier League fan engagement standards are inadequate for consistent high-quality club interaction.
Conclusion
We welcome the Premier League’s fan engagement standard and commend the Premier League for acting prior to the publication of the White Paper. However, the level of fan engagement from Premier League and EFL clubs still varies wildly and we are surprised at the Government’s acceptance of the internal standard as a baseline for fan engagement across football. We do not believe that IREF enforcing an equivalent of the measures in the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard will be enough to formalise consistently high-quality engagement in clubs.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that the Regulator should independently set fan engagement standards and will have legal authority to do so, assessing clubs and potentially applying additional licence conditions beyond current industry standards.
Paragraph Reference:
21
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees that the Regulator should set its standards for fan engagement independently from the Premier League Fan Engagement Standard, and from the football industry more broadly. The Government welcomes the industry’s measures which are aimed at improving how clubs engage with their supporters, but the Regulator will have the legal authority on fan engagement matters as it will form a part of the Regulator’s licensing regime. It makes sense, however, to review the progress football can make in delivering the engagement which fans expect of its own accord and to assess whether that is successful. The Government encourages the leagues, and their clubs, to continue meeting with fan representatives to discuss their concerns and proposals for improving supporter engagement. Fan engagement is crucial to any club and, as the Government outlined in the White Paper, the Regulator will require clubs to ensure that a representative group of supporters is consulted on key decisions and issues. It is important to recognise that there are clubs which have well developed and effective structures in place to engage with their fans and respond to their views. However, as the White Paper and the CMS Committee’s report both identify, this approach is not consistent across all clubs. Our approach recognises the circumstances of individual clubs and will allow them to implement solutions which work for them and their fanbase, while ensuring the Regulator has a duty to apply sufficient oversight and standards for clubs. The Regulator will assess the structures which underpin fan engagement at clubs and the outcomes which flow from that independently from the leagues. The Regulator will therefore expect to assess evidence from fan representatives as well as the club itself, and may apply additional licence conditions as a result of the information it collects from fans and the club.