Our message to football fans is this – the Government will support you evermore

GROWING up, football felt like it was more than just a sport.

It brought us together with friends, got us out on muddy pitches at the weekend and inspired us to dream big.

Some of our earliest memories involved kicking a ball about in the street and staying up late to watch Match Of The Day.

Our respective teams are Southampton (Rishi Sunak) and Spurs (Tracey Crouch) and we have supported them through thick and thin.

But for all the highs and lows one thing has remained throughout — our love for the game and our appreciation of the way it brings communities together.

That is why we care deeply about protecting our clubs and their rich heritage and traditions.

The problem is that too often in English football that simply isn’t happening.

Recklessly gamble

Just look at the heartbreaking collapse of Bury FC in 2019 after 134 years of proud history and the impact on the local community.

Terrible financial mismanagement, the racking up of massive debt and vast overspending drove a well-loved community club, with a proud history, into the ground.

Bury wasn’t the first club to go bust and — if things are allowed to carry on as they are — it won’t be the last.

Neither was this the only setback for English football in recent years, despite on-field successes from the Lionesses’ and the England men’s team.

Some of the biggest clubs attempted to form a break- away European Super League, which would have been a disaster for the domestic game had its backers got their way.

Owners and directors tried to recklessly gamble away the future of their clubs in the hope of big-money payouts.

We’ve even seen attempts to change club colours and crests, betraying the heritage of the teams involved and ignoring the wishes of fans.

The Premier League is a global success story and one of our greatest exports. Long may it remain that way.

We want to protect its competitiveness and excellence.

But the wealth it enjoys, and the stability that brings, is not reflected throughout the pyramid.

If we want well-run, financially stable clubs that put fans first at every level we need to change the way football operates.

That is why the Government launched an independent, root-and-branch review of English football led by fans.

Today we deliver on the findings of the fan-led review, with ambitious changes that will put fans back at the heart of the game.

FIRSTLY, we will do more to prevent the collapse of clubs such as Bury and Macclesfield Town.

We are creating an independent regulator, backed by legislation, to ensure English football is sustainable.

Too many clubs recklessly gamble or are over-reliant on owner funding, leaving them dangerously exposed if their backers decide to pull the plug.

Clubs will now need a licence to operate and, if they fail to put their finances in order, a new regulator with tough powers will bring them to book.

Owners and directors will also face beefed-up checks — including on the source of their wealth — to ensure they are a fit and proper person to run a football club.

And if the football authorities can’t sort it out themselves, the regulator will step in to secure an agreement that will provide greater financial protection for clubs throughout the entire pyramid.

SECONDLY, we will address the issue of breakaway competitions that are driven by greed and which leave fans powerless.

Rules will be introduced to stop clubs from joining new competitions that would kill off the domestic game, such as the European Super League.

Fans and the FA will also be consulted on whether clubs should participate in these competitions.

THIRDLY, clubs will need to give fans a greater say over key decisions.

Cardiff City supporters were rightly appalled when their owners tried to change the home kit from the traditional blue to red.

Secure a bright future

We will stop that from happening again through a new licensing system which ensures clubs give fans a veto over changes to their badges and home shirt colours.

Taken together, this represents the biggest shake-up of football governance in this country since the rules were first invented more than a century ago.

We make no apology for being bold, because the challenge facing English football requires nothing less.

As with any big reform, it is important to get the detail right, and the Government will now work with the football community and fans themselves to bring these plans into law in the most effective way.

In doing so we should not lose sight of the prize on offer — financially stable clubs that give fans a voice and respect club heritage.

The plan we have set out today will help us realise that goal and secure a bright future for the national game.

Football is for all of us — and fans deserve nothing less.