Introduction of Football Governance Bill: Comment from CMS Committee Chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP

Commenting on the introduction of the Football Governance Bill in the House of Lords today, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, said:

“There was broad cross-party agreement before the election on the overwhelming need for something to be done to strengthen governance of the game, so the return of the Bill is a welcome development.

Football should be for all fans, so the new requirements on clubs relating to improving supporter engagement and clearer action on equality, diversity and inclusion – two areas highlighted by the committee in the last Parliament - would seem to be promising additions.

The proposed new Football Regulator would have the power to include parachute payments through its backstop mechanism when assessing finances across the leagues. I hope this leads to a fairer redistribution of income across the game.

We look forward to holding the pre-appointment hearing for the Chair of the proposed new regulator to make sure the right person is at the helm to ensure the future health of our national game.”

The previous committee published a report in June last year after taking evidence on the previous Government's football White Paper.