TRACEY CROUCH MP REVIEW NEEDS TO UP THE GAME WHEN IT COMES TO TACKLING FOOTBALL'S FINANCIAL WOES

Responding to the publication of Tracey Crouch’s letter on the governance of football, Niall Couper, director of Fair Game, an organisation of 20 value-driven football clubs, said:

"There is a lot to welcome in this letter. The need for a new football regulator is now indisputable. Football cannot continue in the same unsustainable way.
“we welcome the opportunity to work closely with Tracey Crouch to build a new and refreshing direction for football. Our aim has always been to develop long-term realistic solutions to the problems our national game faces.
“Financial flows in particular need addressing urgently.
“The Premier League is the richest league in the world. Yet, the Championship is the biggest loss-making division in the world, and lower down the pyramid we have seen the collapse of Bury and Macclesfield and many others teetering on the brink.
“This letter concludes that financial flows within the game needs an overhaul. However, redressing the balance cannot be left solely to the leagues themselves – the very organisations that have led to us where we are now.
“English football has become a Siren to gamblers. As the letter rightly highlights, too many clubs routinely spend way above recommended levels on players' wages.
"Owners should no longer be allowed to play Russian roulette with the history and traditions of football clubs.
"Fair Game is working hard with experts across the country to create a new alternative.
"If we want realistic long-term change, we need to incentivise and encourage good governance. Let's ditch the parachute and solidarity payments and distribute that money to clubs that are run well and properly support the pyramid.
“We also welcome the letter’s commitment to protect a club’s heritage and allowing the use of all-weather pitches in League Two. We look forward to developing those ideas with her.”

You can read Tracey's interim letter to Oliver Dowden MP Minister of Culture Media and Sport by clicking or tapping here.