September 16, 2025 The Football Governance Act 2025: What do you need to know?
In the most significant change to football governance since the introduction of Financial Fair Play, the UK Government’s Football Governance Bill became law in July 2025. This landmark legislation follows a fan-led review of football governance and introduces the UK’s first Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
The Premier League’s formation in 1992 coincided with the Cadbury Report, the UK’s first corporate governance code. However, it has taken over three decades for football governance to receive statutory oversight, marking a pivotal moment in aligning the sport with broader governance standards.
What will the Act do?
In short, the Act establishes the IFR, which will introduce:
- An operating licensing regime
- A football corporate governance code
- An enhanced Owners and Directors Test, the Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) test, and issue disqualification orders and remove directors
- Five-yearly reports on the financial health of the game
- A requirement for clubs to submit business plans and financial disclosures
- Oversight of fan engagement and heritage protections
What does this mean for owners and prospective owners of clubs?
The ODSE will assess the honesty, integrity and financial soundness of prospective football club owners.
Where the IFR has concerns over an incumbent owner, it will have powers to disqualify owners, compel club sales and revoke operating licences where governance standards are breached.
Football has long been plagued by ownership scandals. The Owners and Directors Test is not new, but it has long been criticised for not being sufficient enough and this was reflected in the fan-led review that led to the Act. There’s been pressure for years for football governing bodies and governments to have more of a role in takeovers and ownership of football clubs in the hope that more involvement from these bodies will mean less football clubs, like Macclesfield Town, cease to exist. This summer has also seen Morecombe come extremely close to a similar fate.
You only have to look at the current state of Sheffield Wednesday. Employees and players aren’t getting paid and are leaving the club as a result, fans are boycotting Hillsborough, transfers have been embargoed due to debt, and the club has gained only one point from their opening five games. Fans are desperate for owner Chansiri to sell the club. The Government interjected on 10 September, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy reminding stakeholders that the IFR will be empowered to act decisively in such cases.
What does this mean for football clubs?
Clubs will need to align with the new operating licensing conditions, including governance, financial sustainability, and fan engagement standards. Clubs already report to Companies House, but the IFR’s requirements will go further, especially for smaller EFL clubs with limited existing obligations.
The vast majority of football clubs are private companies, but it is difficult to think of another sector with as much vested public interest as football. Compliance with the football governance code will increase transparency and improve operational standards. This reform should see club governance aligned with the expectations placed on them by their stakeholders.
What about football’s finances?
The IFR will conduct ongoing financial oversight and publish “State of the Game” reports every five years. There is limited information available currently on what the report will mean practically.
Football clubs all receive cuts of broadcast revenue. Lobbyists have argued a review of the distribution of broadcast revenue is required as the financial gaps within the game are huge and only increasing and a review could bring benefits to grassroots football.
The regulator will also have ultimate authority in cases where commercial or broadcast deals are not agreed, potentially reshaping the financial landscape of the sport.
We’ll have to see if this changes anything or keeps the gaps growing.
What does this mean for football fans?
The Act enshrines fan engagement in law and seeks to support stakeholders of football clubs in safeguarding their clubs’ futures. Clubs must consult supporters on key heritage decisions such as stadia sales, changes to badges, or kit colours. It recommends the consolidation of stakeholder rights in the governance of their clubs through bodies like supporters’ trusts.
The Act seeks to empower fans to ensure the integrity and community roots of their clubs are maintained while the game continues to adapt to its globalisation.
Get in touch
The Football Governance Act reflects the growing politicisation in football but also a long-overdue recognition of the need for robust governance. With the IFR’s establishment expected to take place this autumn, clubs and stakeholders must now prepare for a new compliance landscape.
If you’re a football club looking to up your governance game, get in touch. Elemental CoSec provides expert governance support and can support clubs, leagues and governing bodies with:
- Board and Committee support
- Director induction and training
- Board evaluations
- Governance framework reviews
- Annual compliance, including Companies House filings.
