Football governance in the UK examined by Committee
17 October 2016
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee holds a hearing on governance of football with the FA Chairman, Greg Clarke, and Darren Bailey, the FA Director of Governance and Regulation.
- Watch Parliament TV: The governance of football
- Inquiry: The Governance of Football
- Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Witnesses
Monday 17 October 2016, Grimond Room, Portcullis House
At 11.00am
- Greg Clarke, FA Chairman
- Darren Bailey, FA Director of Governance and Regulation
Session background
Recent events have highlighted the continuing major failings in the current system of football governance in the UK, as well as internationally. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has repeatedly urged the football authorities to improve self-governance.
Although the Committee's recommendations have been backed by successive Sports Ministers and progress has been promised by the FA, in practice very little has changed: the governance of football is cumbersome, and power lies with the clubs, especially in the Premier League. Real reform in relation to the ownership of clubs, transfers of players, the influence of fans, the role of agents and investment in the grassroots-amongst other issues-has stalled.
It seems very unlikely that football will be found to comply with the Government's gold standard charter for the governance of sporting bodies, when that is published. In the last Parliament, the Committee recommended legislation to enforce good governance if no further progress has been made.
Further information
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