As work continues to establish an independent regulator for football in England, LCP’s sports division has welcomed a new expert to help its clients adapt. Aaryaman Banerji joins as head of football governance, having previously worked as a policy lead in the sector for a Westminster think-tank.
The more money football attracts, the more problems its most historic clubs face. With multiple storied institutions having folded in recent years – thanks in part to over-spending owners gambling on reaching lucrative Premier League football – and other top-flight teams having been purchased by sovereign wealth funds as a means of sports washing (and allegedly flouting financial fair play to do so), the fan-led Crouch report commissioned by the last government eventually recommended the sport needed an independent regulator.
The plan was seemingly shelved by the Conservative administration – but proved popular enough with fans for the new government to revive it. But Premier League owners – who critics say are essentially their own regulators – remain hostile to the idea, which some have gone as far to paint as “Maoism”.
Amid this tension, global consulting firm LCP has installed a new head of its football governanceoffering. Working with clients to help them adjust to “the football industry’s fast-evolving regulatory landscape”, Aaryaman Banerji will bring a wealth of experience and insight that will help LCP to develop its services to the football industry, according to Bart Huby, head of sport analytics at LCP.
Huby added, “These developments will have the aim of both reflecting and influencing the new government’s pivotal Football Governance Bill. The Bill is expected to bring significant new requirements for clubs and their owners to demonstrate good practice in both their finances and governance. I look forward to working alongside Aaryaman, as we continue to develop LCP’s services to support clubs in meeting these new requirements.”
Banerji joins from Civitas, a conservative Westminster think-tank. There, he was the group’s football policy lead, and authored extensive reports into the government’s plans to introduce independent regulation to the football industry – one of which argued that any new regulator should be a temporary fix, and in the long-term, the Football Association might instead reclaim its traditional role governing English football – a similar model to the one FIFA (which helped Banerjiobtain an MBA) holds, both organising and making the rules for global football.
Speaking on his new role, Banerji added, “LCP has quickly established itself as a firm with unique, critical and deep expertise in the regulation, finance and governance of football. This is an exciting time to be joining a fast growing and ambitious team, with a strong reputation and clear vision for what it can offer the industry. I feel very privileged to join the team and look forward to playing a key part in its development.”
LCP’s sports division is made up of 16 people, with expertise spanning sport analytics, finance, governance and regulation. The team has developed a football player data-scouting and recruitment platform called TransferLab, a fixture planning platform called FixtureHub, and produce an annual analysis of the financial sustainability of men’s football clubs in England.