Post by Macmoish on Mar 9, 2012 22:58:08 GMT
Telegraph/Paul Kelso
FA to enforce stricter rules on club ownership with new independent regulator to prevent Portsmouth repeat
Club owners and directors will be vetted by a new independent regulator under reforms to football governance announced by the FA.
As disclosed by The Daily Telegraph last month, a new body with power to conduct due diligence on club owners and their finances is at the heart of the changes, agreed by the FA, the professional league and the grassroots game.
The Football Association Regulatory Authority (FARA) is at the heart of a new FA licensing system that is intended to ease public concern over the financial affairs of many leading clubs.
Under the new system, the FA board will have the ultimate say over whether clubs comply with the rules laid down by individual leagues, including financial regulation.
Rules concerning ownership will be harmonised between the Premier League and the Football League, with the FARA ultimately responsible for signing off changes of ownership.
Under the changes announced, the FA also committed to reducing the size of its main board from 14 to between eight and 12 by the start of the 2013-14 season.
In a sign of challenges to come, however, Football League chairman Greg Clarke suggested this may involve "a bare-knuckle fight" as the various parties look to defend their positions in the delicate political balance of the English game.
The FA also said it would work to enhance supporter influence and consultation, but stopped short of concrete measures to actively promote fan ownership.
The reforms came in response to a select committee inquiry into the state of the game, raising concerns over the financial management of the game which in recent season has seen high-profile insolvencies, most notably Portsmouth.
The select committee's concerns were backed by demands for reform from sports minister Hugh Robertson.
Under the looming threat of legislation, the three strands of the game - professional, amateur and the FA - have redefined their roles and responsibilities within the governing body.
These reforms are confined to structure rather than the substance of regulations, however, though the FA board will have the power to block or propose rule changes in future under the licensing umbrella.
It is a significant change to the current arrangements, where owners are vetted according to the two league's rule books, and ultimately approved by their boards.
"This will give the FA a much greater level of approval and audit [over clubs]," said FA chairman David Bernstein. "The professional leagues will be in the frontline but the FA will have a much greater ability to do what the wider world wants, which is to have an overview and deal with issues that come up."
Robertson welcomed the FA's response, but said that concerns remained over football finance. "The football authorities must keep their rules under review to ensure their clubs are on a sure footing going forward," he said.
The question of reducing the size of the board from the current 14 has been deferred until other changes have been pushed through the FA Council, but Clarke expressed frustration that it had not been confronted now.
"I am a little bit disappointed that it is going to take 14-16 months because one of the problems we have in the game is that people think difficult issues are kicked into the long-grass.
"I would have been a lot happier if we could have had the bare-knuckle fight now and got it done, showed we could take tough decisions. But if we can't we can't."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said the proposals would tackle some of the "dysfunctionality" previously seen on the FA board, but would not answer every question.
"This is a governance report, it addresses how decision are made," he said. "It is not an answer to every question that fans raise about the structure of football in this country.
"In the past you have seen manifestations of dysfunctionality around the FA board table, but this is an attempt to end that, and to make better decisions as a game. What those decisions will be is not in here."
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/9134285/FA-to-enforce-stricter-rules-on-club-ownership-with-new-independent-regulator-to-prevent-Portsmouth-repeat.html
FA to enforce stricter rules on club ownership with new independent regulator to prevent Portsmouth repeat
Club owners and directors will be vetted by a new independent regulator under reforms to football governance announced by the FA.
As disclosed by The Daily Telegraph last month, a new body with power to conduct due diligence on club owners and their finances is at the heart of the changes, agreed by the FA, the professional league and the grassroots game.
The Football Association Regulatory Authority (FARA) is at the heart of a new FA licensing system that is intended to ease public concern over the financial affairs of many leading clubs.
Under the new system, the FA board will have the ultimate say over whether clubs comply with the rules laid down by individual leagues, including financial regulation.
Rules concerning ownership will be harmonised between the Premier League and the Football League, with the FARA ultimately responsible for signing off changes of ownership.
Under the changes announced, the FA also committed to reducing the size of its main board from 14 to between eight and 12 by the start of the 2013-14 season.
In a sign of challenges to come, however, Football League chairman Greg Clarke suggested this may involve "a bare-knuckle fight" as the various parties look to defend their positions in the delicate political balance of the English game.
The FA also said it would work to enhance supporter influence and consultation, but stopped short of concrete measures to actively promote fan ownership.
The reforms came in response to a select committee inquiry into the state of the game, raising concerns over the financial management of the game which in recent season has seen high-profile insolvencies, most notably Portsmouth.
The select committee's concerns were backed by demands for reform from sports minister Hugh Robertson.
Under the looming threat of legislation, the three strands of the game - professional, amateur and the FA - have redefined their roles and responsibilities within the governing body.
These reforms are confined to structure rather than the substance of regulations, however, though the FA board will have the power to block or propose rule changes in future under the licensing umbrella.
It is a significant change to the current arrangements, where owners are vetted according to the two league's rule books, and ultimately approved by their boards.
"This will give the FA a much greater level of approval and audit [over clubs]," said FA chairman David Bernstein. "The professional leagues will be in the frontline but the FA will have a much greater ability to do what the wider world wants, which is to have an overview and deal with issues that come up."
Robertson welcomed the FA's response, but said that concerns remained over football finance. "The football authorities must keep their rules under review to ensure their clubs are on a sure footing going forward," he said.
The question of reducing the size of the board from the current 14 has been deferred until other changes have been pushed through the FA Council, but Clarke expressed frustration that it had not been confronted now.
"I am a little bit disappointed that it is going to take 14-16 months because one of the problems we have in the game is that people think difficult issues are kicked into the long-grass.
"I would have been a lot happier if we could have had the bare-knuckle fight now and got it done, showed we could take tough decisions. But if we can't we can't."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said the proposals would tackle some of the "dysfunctionality" previously seen on the FA board, but would not answer every question.
"This is a governance report, it addresses how decision are made," he said. "It is not an answer to every question that fans raise about the structure of football in this country.
"In the past you have seen manifestations of dysfunctionality around the FA board table, but this is an attempt to end that, and to make better decisions as a game. What those decisions will be is not in here."
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/9134285/FA-to-enforce-stricter-rules-on-club-ownership-with-new-independent-regulator-to-prevent-Portsmouth-repeat.html