Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Require IREF to set higher fan engagement licensing conditions independently of existing standards.
Recommendation
IREF, beginning in shadow form, should ensure that its licencing conditions regarding fan engagement are set independently of the current Premier League Fan Engagement Standard. Unless there is immediate and significant change from leagues and clubs, we expect that IREF will be required to set and enforce a substantially higher level of fan engagement for clubs to meet than the Leagues have set themselves, in order to ensure all clubs work to meet the needs of fans. (Paragraph 23) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that the Regulator should set fan engagement standards independently and will have legal authority to do so, assessing clubs' structures and outcomes, and potentially applying additional licence conditions to ensure higher levels of engagement.
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.