ENGLISH football’s independent regulator must be given stronger powers to correct the financial imbalances in the game, a campaign group has warned.

The Football Association, Premier League and EFL are involved in talks around a “New Deal For Football,” at the centre of which are discussions about how television income generated at the top level should flow down the pyramid.

The government said last week in a consultation response to its white paper on football governance that it remains committed to football finding its own solution to dividing up television cash, but says the new regulator will have backstop powers to enforce a settlement if one cannot be agreed.

Fair Game has been campaigning for independent regulation and welcomes the progress the government has made to reach this point, but believes improvements can still be made before legislation for the new regulator is brought forward, potentially in the autumn.

The group is “highly sceptical” that the football authorities will achieve something which truly benefits the whole game, and says the regulator should be given a much more active role.

“At present the top seven divisions in the English football pyramid receive just under £3.2 billion in TV broadcast revenue each year,” the group said in a release linked to the publication of a new briefing document.

“Yet for every £1,000 of that amount, £882 goes to Premier League clubs, £32.85 to most Championship sides, and just 15p to clubs in the National League South.

“Only a truly independent body can address the financial flow, distribute funds more equitably and encourage well-run clubs.”

In order to achieve that last goal, the group says the regulator should ensure that at least a proportion of revenue is distributed to clubs based on their performance against a number of sustainability criteria.

“Current discussions by football authorities seem to focus exclusively on allocating money according to league position — arguably increasing the incentive to overspend to try to finish higher up the division,” the briefing document states.

“This puts well-run clubs at a disadvantage and penalises attempts to put long-term financial stability at the core of a club’s approach.

“Without incentives to change, the likelihood is that the game will continue to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Fair Game also argues that fans, not the regulator, should have a veto over clubs selling their stadiums or relocating, and on joining new competitions such as the Super League.

“Fans should not be fobbed off with [a Golden Share veto on] club badges and colours. Where a club plays — the stadium or the league it plays in — is crucial.

“Clubs are community assets and should not be taken from communities without the full approval of their fans.”

Fair Game is also still calling for a human rights element in the regulator’s owners’ and directors’ test.

It notes the government’s consultation response says the test should ensure owners and directors have “sufficient integrity” and adds: “Questions of human rights abuse for example would clearly make an owner unfit to run a football club on the grounds of integrity.

“It seems though that the government is inclined to exclude this and other
areas that could potentially relate to state ownership.

“Perhaps the best option to avoid any foreign affairs overlaps and to ensure long-term sustainability would be to support the Premier League’s proposition that nation-state ownership should be blocked.”

The Guardian reported last week that a number of top-flight clubs, independently of the league itself, have asked the government to give the regulator powers to block nation state ownership of clubs.

Fair Game chief executive Niall Couper said: “Football is on the cusp of a new future. The prospect of an independent regulator is to be warmly welcomed and the government must be applauded for getting this far.

“However, it should be remembered that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“There have been many failed attempts to get the reform football needs over the last few decades. If we are to get a game we can truly be proud of then the big questions cannot be ducked or ignored.

“Football needs a fairer financial flow, it needs to embed good governance, truly respect its fans, and become leaders on ethics, environment and equality standards.

“Our political leaders hold the key to deliver that future. They mustn’t waste it.”