As the search for a new owner for Torquay United AFC continues, Torbay MP, Kevin Foster, has welcomed the introduction of the Football Governance Bill, which will lead to the creation of an Independent Football Regulator.
The news of the Bill’s introduction comes as Torquay United Football Club faces the prospect of administration having been put up for sale by its owner, the latest in a long line of historic clubs to see their future decided by off-pitch issues, not matchday performance.
Kevin has campaigned alongside the Torquay United Supporters Trust (TUST) in calling for major reform in how the game is regulated and to ensure fans were once more at the heart of the game. This included organising a meeting between TUST and Tracey Crouch MP, shortly after she published the report of the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance she had overseen.
Introduction of legislation to create the Independent Football Regulator will also tackle other issues which have often seen fans feel loyalty to their club has been pushed to one side. This includes club relocations and drastic alterations to the identity of clubs which undermine their heritage, such as an owner changing the historic club colours.
The new Independent Football Regulator will be given comprehensive powers to work with clubs to improve their finances, create stronger tests for proposed club owners and safeguard clubs’ heritage by delivering greater fan representation in club decisions.
The Independent Football Regulator will oversee a new licensing regime for clubs in the top five tiers of English football. The regulator will follow an advocacy first approach but will have the power to revoke licences and impose fines where serious breaches occur.
The regulator will also be responsible for overseeing requests by club owners to sell the club or relocate the stadium. It will also introduce baseline standards for fan involvement in key off field decisions such as club heritage. The regulator’s role will be in addition to, not a replacement of the role local Councils may also play in decisions around a club’s stadium in terms of planning or ownership of the ground, for example Torbay Council’s ownership of the freehold of Plainmoor Stadium.
Commenting, Kevin Foster MP said: “Major and systemic reform of how football governed is much needed, so I am delighted this bill is being introduced. Fans deserve better than to feel like bystanders as their beloved club is used as a pawn in a dispute over stadium ownership or finds itself in financial difficulty. The changes made are very welcome and Torquay United fans have been at the heart of helping deliver them.”
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