Fixing football regulation would have given Crawley Town an extra £1.4m in funding this season

As the football white paper is published this week, Labour is calling on the Government to bring in a regulator as quickly as possible.

While the publication of the white paper is welcome, it is already long overdue. In the 15 months it’s taken the Government to re-word the fan-led review, Derby County nearly went under, Oldham Athletic was relegated, Chelsea changed hands and Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bournemouth were all put up for sale. The Premier League and EFL still haven’t reached a deal on finances, and now a European Super League is back on the table.

There are clubs already on the brink, that can’t wait until the 2024/25 season to get a fair settlement. Fair financial distribution must be sorted before a regulator comes into force. The failure of the Premier League and EFL to reach an agreement on football finances means lower league clubs will miss out on £365m this season, and clubs in the North and Midlands have already lost out on £200m. This includes Crawley Town which will miss out on £1.4m.

Labour has long called for football to be put on a stable footing, with an independent regulator and proper say for fans, something which Crawley fans are already crying out for.

The fan-led review of football governance was published over a year ago. It made a suite of recommendations for better governance in football, including stronger owners and directors tests, fairer distribution of funding down the football pyramid, and a seat at the table for fans, through a shadow board and ‘golden share’ in significant club decisions. Labour called for the recommendations to be implemented in full.