Kemi Badenoch was accused by the Football Supporters’ Association of going back on her words after describing the game’s incoming regulator as “a waste of money”.
As the Conservatives abandoned support for “bonkers” curbs, Badenoch maintained on The Telegraph’s Daily T podcast that she has consistently opposed the plans.
However, the FSA hit back over an alleged “own goal” on Tuesday, claiming to have evidence that she previously expressed support for the regulator in a letter to a constituent. “It’s curious that Kemi Badenoch now opposes the regulator as we have seen correspondence she sent to a constituent a couple of years ago when she said ‘I support these reforms’,” the FSA said. “This is what’s known in football as an own goal, Kemi.”
Labour’s Football Governance Bill, currently making its way through the House of Lords, follows watchdog plans first put in place by the previous Tory government.
Badenoch suggested it is now at risk of being an example of “so much rubbish that happens in government”. “I think a football regulator is going to be a waste of money,” she said in an interview on the Daily T podcast. “When I speak to people in the industry, they don’t think it’s going to work. So why are we doing it?”
Badenoch said she was “opposed to it personally” and “the party is looking at how we can improve the Bill because we don’t have the numbers in the Commons or even in the Lords to stop it”.
The Bill, initially introduced in March 2024, failed to pass through Parliament before the general election was called last May. Labour then reintroduced it during July’s King’s Speech, announcing powers for an independent body overseeing clubs in England’s top five tiers. The Government says it will “protect football clubs” by “ensuring their financial sustainability”, but the Premier League has led opposition, expressing concern over the impact on financial competitiveness and investment.
The FSA, however, said in its statement defending the regulator: “The Premier League is currently spending around £50m per season on legal fees fighting cases which could be handled by a regulator costing one-fifth of that, while protecting a lot more clubs. And football will cover the costs, this isn’t coming out of the public purse.
“She claims to have spoken to people in the ‘industry’ – we prefer to call it the game – but that doesn’t appear to include the EFL who represent 72 clubs and back the regulator. Can Kemi let everyone know exactly who she’s spoken to in football?
“She has certainly not spoken to the FSA or our supporter groups who are right behind this legislation which puts a block on domestic involvement in a European Super League, offers more protection to our clubs, and gives supporters a greater say in the game.”
Recruitment for the regulator’s first chair is well under way, with ministers working through a shortlist of candidates for the part-time post which has a salary of £130,000.
The Conservative leader said she was in favour of a “better state that delivers better services”. “The Conservative Party is under new leadership and all of the things which I thought were bonkers ideas we are not supporting,” she added.
Badenoch told the Daily T: “People feel that a football regulator will help smaller clubs in towns and so on. That’s why they’re doing it. So I understand the problem that they’re trying to solve. I just don’t think a football regulator will do it. And I’ve always said so.”
Responding to Badenoch’s comments, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “The Tory U-turn on protecting football clubs from collapse is a complete betrayal of fans and communities up and down the country.”
A Government-launched, fan-led review of football and the subsequent Football Governance Bill were borne out of international outrage over England’s so-called “big six” plotting to join a European Super League in 2021. That concept came after the financial collapse of Bury FC and protests erupting over a previous domestic breakaway idea, Project Big Picture.
Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats all formally committed to the regulator in their manifestos. But the issue has become increasingly divisive in recent months. Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, a former chairman of Southampton FC, told the Commons last month: “Looking at the Financial Services and Markets Act and the damage that’s done to the London Stock Exchange and other markets, will the Government take responsibility if football declines after they introduce football regulation?”
