Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, published on 23 February 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the establishment of a shadow board of fans as a condition of the football club licensing process.

The football governance white paper set out how we will put fans back at the heart of football.

The Independent Football Regulator will introduce strong new legal protections to safeguard the heritage of clubs and ensure fans’ voices are heard. Clubs will not be able to make changes to their badge or home shirt colours without explicit fan approval. The Government has worked with the FA to ensure these protections are in place now, and the Regulator will act as a statutory backstop to ensure this cannot change.

The Regulator must approve any proposal to move or sell the stadium, and must consider the views of fans and impact on club heritage where a relocation is sought. Clubs can only participate in competitions which are approved by the Regulator against a set of published criteria. This will prevent English clubs from joining unapproved breakaway leagues such as the European Super League.

This will provide fans with irreversible, strong legal protections to prevent damage to the most important aspects of their clubs.

The Government is committed to delivering on the Football Governance White Paper and will legislate where parliamentary time allows.