Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Paragraph: 42
Football organisations must resolve revenue distribution deadlock to secure financial sustainability
Conclusion
The financial sustainability of the football pyramid is the responsibility of football itself. Football organisations can, and should, be the ones to find a solution to the current deadlock of revenue distribution. We welcome that progress seems to have been made on a “New Deal” for football and a new revenue sharing model. However, it is clear that there is still distance between the Premier League and EFL. If this distance is not bridged soon, more clubs will be put at risk of collapse. It is right that IREF is given the powers to intervene in the interests of the wider game as a last resort, but football organisations ought to prove that these powers are not necessary. There is still time, before the establishment of IREF, for these organisations to get their act together to secure the financial future of the sport.
Government Response Summary
The government echoes the Committee's call for football authorities to reach a financial agreement and reiterates its commitment to establishing a Regulator with statutory powers to intervene as a last resort, aligning with the Committee's conclusion.
Paragraph Reference:
42
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government strongly welcomes and echoes the Committee’s call on the football authorities to urgently reach an agreement on financial distributions. As set out in the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance and the subsequent White Paper, there is a clear and urgent need to reform financial distributions in English football. As such, the Government continues to urge the football authorities to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that promotes financial sustainability, sporting competition and international competitiveness across the entire football pyramid, thereby ensuring the continued success of English football at all levels. As set out in the White Paper, the Government’s strong preference is for a football-led solution and ideally there would be no need for regulatory intervention in financial distributions at all. However, we agree with the CMS Committee that although parties have had ample time, they have made slow progress on reaching an agreement. Given the importance of the structure and level of distributions for the financial sustainability of clubs across the pyramid, the Regulator will need to have targeted statutory powers to intervene as a last resort if football fails to reach an agreement. This backstop mechanism needs to be carefully designed to ensure it delivers the right outcomes and incentives with minimum regulatory involvement, which is why we are working with leading academics, regulatory and industry experts, and the clubs and leagues themselves to design an effective mechanism that encourages a lasting solution that works for football.