The Football Governance Act (the Act) was passed into law last week establishing the Independent Football Regulator (the IFR) and the mandatory licensing regime for the top five tiers of men's football in England and Wales. The creation of the IFR follows a period of scrutiny for English football, including the attempted European Super League and several high-profile club crises. The new regulator is the product of a fan-led review and extensive consultation and has been widely welcomed by fans and policymakers.

Aimed at "protecting and promoting the sustainability of English football", the Act establishes a range of new requirements, obligations and duties for clubs, competition organisers, owners and officers that will be overseen by the IFR. The IFR’s statutory objectives are threefold: to promote the financial soundness of individual clubs, to ensure the systemic financial resilience of English football, and to safeguard the heritage and traditions that matter most to fans and local communities.

For in scope clubs, the Act introduces (among other things):

• Owners’ and Directors’ Suitability Tests: suitability requirements for both new and incumbent owners and directors of clubs. These requirements focus on honesty, integrity and financial soundness, and enable the IFR to disqualify potential owners or officers or require the exit of existing owners or officers where they are deemed unsuitable.
• Prevention of Breakaway Competitions: The IFR will have the power to prohibit regulated clubs from participating in breakaway competitions, such as the European Super League, protecting the integrity and stability of English football.
• Fan Engagement and Heritage Protections: Clubs must establish effective frameworks for regular engagement with representative groups of supporters, particularly on matters such as club name, crest, and home shirt colours. Any proposed changes to these elements must demonstrate majority support from the fanbase and, in some cases, require FA approval.
• IFR investigatory and enforcement powers: The IFR is required to act according to a set of regulatory principles, including proportionality, efficiency, and transparency, and to work constructively with clubs and stakeholders.
• Broadcast Revenue Backstop Power: The IFR will have a "backstop" power to intervene in the distribution of broadcast revenue across the leagues, should the industry fail to reach a fair and sustainable agreement independently.

Clubs, Owners and Officers should familiarise themselves with the requirements and potential implications of the Act, alongside existing requirements as set by the leagues. However, the Act only provides the primary legal framework and over the coming months the IFR is expected to publish a range of rules and guidance relevant to the new regime. The IFR will also publish a State of the Game report no later than 18 months after becoming operational (and no more than every 5 years after that) to provide an overview of the main issues that the IFR considers to be affecting English football, and an assessment of whether any features of English football jeopardise the IFRs ability to advance its objectives.

Funding for the IFR will initially come from government, but will transition to a levy on licensed clubs, designed to be proportionate to each club’s financial circumstances. A shadow regulator is already in place, working with stakeholders to ensure the new system is ready to go live as soon as possible.

We shall be watching these developments closely so watch this space for further articles in our series analysing this new regulatory regime in more detail.