Football is more than just a game, it’s a way of life for millions across the country. But for far too long, financial instability has meant loyal fans and whole communities have risked losing their cherished clubs as a result of mismanagement and reckless spending. Cardiff City fans know all too well what can happen. We’ve also seen elsewhere, the devastating consequences of this instability, from the tragic loss of Bury FC to the attempted breakaway European Super League.
That’s why the UK Labour Government’s Football Governance Bill is so important. This landmark law will introduce an Independent Football Regulator for the first time in English football history, delivering on our manifesto commitment and finally giving supporters the protections and voice they deserve. Football would be nothing without its fans, and this law will put them firmly back at the centre of the game.
At the heart of the law is a new licensing system that will apply to all clubs across the top five tiers of the men’s English football pyramid – including our Welsh clubs Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham and Newport County. Clubs will need to meet minimum standards to receive and retain their licence: areas like financial sustainability, governance, and fan engagement. This isn’t about unnecessary red tape. It’s about making sure that the institutions fans have built and sustained for generations can continue to thrive.
The Regulator will have three core objectives:-
- to ensure the financial soundness of individual clubs;
- to promote the overall resilience of the football system and
- to safeguard the aspects of club heritage that matter most to supporters.
That means stronger safeguards for the things fans care most about, like club names, badges, and shirt colours. Here in Cardiff, we remember what happened when Cardiff City’s kit was changed from blue to red, against the overwhelming wishes of fans. The law will help make sure supporters can never again be sidelined in decisions of such significance.
Too often in the past, rogue owners have been able to operate unchecked, taking on unsustainable levels of debt and leaving loyal fans to pick up the pieces. This law will introduce a strengthened owners’ and directors’ test to ensure club custodians are suitable, and finances are sustainable.
Crucially, it also includes new powers to prevent English clubs from joining competitions like the European Super League, unless there is clear fan support, and the long-term sustainability of the domestic game can be protected and guaranteed.
The Regulator will also have a limited backstop power to intervene in how financial resources are distributed across the football pyramid, but only as a last resort. This ensures the new regime is genuinely ‘light-touch’ and pro-growth, but robust enough to act when the future of clubs or communities is placed in jeopardy.
And to be absolutely clear, the Independent Regulator won’t have any role in sporting rules or ‘on-pitch’ matters! Nor will it micromanage commercial decisions made by clubs.
The Regulator will have the power to compel clubs to democratically select the fan representatives the club must engage with, rather than clubs making a unilateral decision. This will ensure meaningful engagement with as many supporters of a club as possible.
This is the result of years of hard work, led by supporters, campaigners and experts across the game. The Fan-Led Review, commissioned after the Bury collapse, the COVID shutdown, and the ESL attempt, laid the groundwork for this law. That work is now being delivered by a UK Labour Government determined to fix the broken system.
One of the jobs of any government is to protect the institutions and communities that matter to people’s everyday lives. This law delivers these protections. It’s about fairness, accountability and giving fans the power to protect what they love. It shows what is possible when the government acts in the public interest, not just for the present, but also for the future.