By Andrew Warshaw in London
October 12 – The English Football Association, still reeling from the humiliating 2018 World Cup debacle, has been ordered by the Government to bring in rules to tackle debt amongst its clubs.
A deadline of February 29 next year has been imposed for the FA to overhaul its current board and introduce a new licensing system for clubs.
“[Football’s] governance has failed to keep up with the modern game,” said Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson (pictured).
“If football proves unable to sort this out itself then the Government may have to legislate.
“I’m not keen on that idea because I’ve always believed very strongly that sport, not Government, should run sport in this country.
“It is an absolute deadline for them to bring forward proposals to say how they’re going to implement this report.”
Today’s announcement demanding changes in the way the game is run follows a detailed report, after a one-year probe, by the Government’s Select Committee on football governance which looked into all aspects of the game.
“The Government shares the concern expressed by the committee at the extent of losses and the number of clubs on the edge of viability,” a Government statement said.
“Debt per se is not always a bad thing, but it must be genuinely sustainable and should be assessed as a percentage of turnover.”
The FA Board is currently made up of chairman David Bernstein (pictured right), general secretary Alex Horne (left) and five representatives from the professional game – the Premier League and Football League – and five from the national game.
Such a makeup has led to a number of recent feuds.
The proposed licensing system is intended to deal with the kind of financial mismanagement that beset Portsmouth two years ago, the first Premier League club to go into administration.
Greg Clarke, chairman of the Football League, said overall debt in the three lower leagues is about £500 million ($786 million/€571 million).
The report makes clear the Government’s threat to bring in legislation if reforms are not made though quite what FIFA will make of this is open to question since it bars Government intervention in the way member federations are run.
“We expect the football authorities to work together to agree proposals, including plans for implementation, by 29 February 2012,” the statement said.
“The Government is fully committed to ensuring that the changes put forward by the football authorities make a lasting and substantive difference.
“If that does not happen the government will introduce a legal requirement on the Football Association to implement the appropriate governance clauses by the swiftest possible means.”
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