Football Governance Bill [HL] 2024-25

The Football Governance Bill [HL] was introduced in the House of Lords on 24 October 2024 where it completed its stages on 26 March 2025. The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons the following day and is scheduled to have its second reading on 28 April 2025.

The bill is very similar to a bill introduced under the previous Conservative government which did not complete its parliamentary stages before the 2024 general election. 

Background to the bill

The bill is in response to longstanding concerns about issues such as:

• the financial sustainability of the English game
• the ownership of clubs
• the lack of fan involvement in the running of clubs

The above concerns, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the game, plus abandoned plans for a European Super League, led to a Fan-led Review of football in 2021. This recommended, among other things, that an independent regulator should be established for the English game. The then government accepted the recommendation. A February 2023 football white paper confirmed the government’s plans to establish a regulator through legislation. The Sunak government introduced a Football Governance Bill but the bill did not complete its passage through Parliament before the 2024 general election.

The Labour Party manifesto (PDF) included a commitment to introduce a Football Governance Bill to “establish an independent regulator to ensure financial sustainability of football clubs in England”, protect football clubs across communities, and give fans a greater say in how they are run.

What would the bill do?

An impact assessment on the bill (PDF) states that its policy objectives are to:

• improve the financial sustainability of individual clubs and English men’s professional football as a whole, in the interests of fans and local communities
• protect and preserve the use of important cultural heritage assets
• ensure that clubs sufficiently engage with their fans on matters of interest to supporters

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport factsheet summarises how the bill differs from the earlier bill.

Where would the bill extend?

The bill would extend to England and Wales only.

More on the bill

The government has published supporting documents on the bill:

• Explanatory notes(PDF) (27 March 2025)

• Impact assessment(PDF) (23 October 2024)

• Delegated powers memorandum (PDF) (24 October 2024)

• European Convention on Human Rights memorandum(PDF) (updated 27 March 2025)

• Regulatory Policy Committee opinion on the government’s impact assessment on the bill (updated 26 October 2024)

Factsheets on the bill, all dated 27 March 2025, have also been published:

• Overview of the bill

• How the bill differs from the previous government’s

• The independent football regulator

• Licensing regime

• Owners and directors of regulated clubs

• Duties on clubs and competition organisers

• Financial distribution backstop mechanism

• Investigations, enforcement and appeals

The bill in the House of Lords

The bill – HL bill 41 (PDF) – was originally introduced in the House of Lords on 24 October 2024. It had its second reading in the Lords on 13 November 2024. The bill had twelve sittings in committee between 27 November 2024 and 15 January 2025. Minor government amendments were made. No opposition amendments were agreed.

Report stage took place over three sittings between 11 and 17 March 2025. Government amendments were made in the following areas:

• Financial growth
• Regulation and engagement with players and fans
• Statutory review
• Financial distributions

A government factsheet summarises the amendments.

The bill had its third reading on 26 March 2025.

Reaction to the bill

The English Football League has welcomed the bill, saying it has “been framed in a way that will enable the new regulator to protect and achieve the sustainability of clubs across the entire football pyramid”.

The Premier League has said that elements of the bill could help strengthen the English game, for example on fan engagement, protecting club heritage, preventing breakaway leagues and encouraging responsible ownership. However, it is concerned that the bill’s “rigid banking-style regulation” could “have a negative impact on the League’s continued competitiveness, clubs’ investment in world-class talent and, above all, the aspiration that drives our global appeal and growth”.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), the representative body for supporters in England and Wales, said it “wholeheartedly” backed the creation of an independent regulator. According to the FSA, the regulator has “the potential to protect our historic community clubs and stop them being run into-the-ground by bad owners, rebalance the game’s finances, protect the heritage of all clubs, give supporters a bigger say in the running of the game and block any domestic clubs from joining a breakaway European Super League.”

Tracey Crouch, Chair of the Fan-led Review, said the bill reflected the review’s recommendations that supporters should be at the heart of the game” and have a “genuine say on things like ticketing and club heritage”. She also said the regulator would help put clubs on a sustainable financial footing.