United Kingdom: An Update on the Establishment of an Independent Football Regulator
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The need for better governance in football in the United Kingdom resulted in the introduction in Parliament of the Football Governance Bill, the text of which was published on 24 March 2024. The Bill provides for the establishment of an Independent Football Regulator, who will oversee the operational standards of English football, including the Premier League.
This Bill was overtaken by the subsequent surprise announcement by the former UK Conservative Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, of a UK General Election, as a result of which this draft Law lapsed.
The General Election duly took place on 4 July 2024 and was overwhelmingly won by the Opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, who is now the UK Prime Minister and leader of the Government.
It was generally envisaged that the Bill, which was published on 24 March 2024, would be reintroduced in the new Parliament.
In the King’s Speech on the opening of the new Parliament on 17 July 2024, some 40 Bills to be introduced and passed into Law were mentioned, and the Football Governance Bill was one of them.
With such a full legislative programme, it is not known what priority will be given to this Bill and what changes, if any, will be made to the previous Bill when it is reintroduced into the new Parliament. One thing, however, is certain that, with the Government having 411 seats out of a total of 650 seats, the Bill will eventually be passed.
For a review of and comments on the provisions of the previous Bill, see the article by Simon Oriss, entitled ‘The potential impact of an independent football regulator’, and which was published in the June 2024 issue of the ‘Sports Law & Taxation’ Journal at pages 12-15.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
