The introduction of an independent football regulator is guaranteed to change English football as we know it, both on and off the pitch.
And the Football Governance Bill that is currently passing through Parliament will be just as impactful, giving strict definitions to how football clubs can operate in this country.
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The Bill is currently passing through the House of Lords, where amendments to it are put forward and voted on before returning to the elected House of Commons.
And a Labour peer, Lord Bassam of Brighton, has put forward an amendment which would prevent professional clubs in England being owned or controlled by government ministers or sovereign wealth funds from any country.
Bassam’s amendment means that the bill would state, “No state-controlled club may be granted an operating licence, and any affected club must satisfy the IFR [independent football regulator] that they have divested themselves of their state-control before applying for an operating licence.
“A state-controlled club is one which is wholly or majority-owned by individual(s), entities, or entities controlled by individual(s) who are deemed by the IFR or the secretary of state to be under the influence of any state actor, including but not limited to: members of any government or their immediate family, a head of state or their immediate family, diplomats, lobbyists, or other state representatives, or their immediate family, and sovereign wealth funds.”
How would this affect English football?
This would mean, if it were to pass, that Manchester City and Newcastle United’s current owners would have to move away from direct control of those clubs. Being forced to sell would be a realistic possibility.
For the amendment to be put into the actual text of the bill, it would have to pass through a vote in the House of Commons. With the Labour government having a majority in the House, it would mean that a ban on state-ownership of football clubs was officially Government policy.
The Times‘ report on the amendment says that insiders say the amendment has little chance of getting onto the actual bill itself, but with some Premier League clubs previously advocating for a ban it could seriously enter the debate.
If it were to occur, it would initiate one of the most significant changes to the face of British football we have ever seen.
And whilst Manchester City would certainly have no lack of private investors willing to take them off the hands of the Abu Dhabi government, their financial model would surely significantly change.
Elsewhere, City were recently stung by the Premier League’s vote to change rules on associated party transactions.
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