# Football Governance Inquiry

The Football Governance Inquiry was a British public inquiry into the governance of football in the United Kingdom. The inquiry was announced on 7 December 2010.
John Whittingdale, the Committee Chair said: "The Government has said that it will encourage the reform of football governance rules to support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters, and there is widespread concern that the current governance arrangements are not fit-for-purpose."

## Committee members

The committee of inquiry, the members comprises:
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| John Whittingdale MP (Chair) | Conservative | Maldon |
| Louise Bagshawe MP | Conservative | Corby |
| David Cairns MP | Labour | Inverclyde |
| Thérèse Coffey MP | Conservative | Suffolk Coastal |
| Damian Collins MP | Conservative | Folkestone and Hythe |
| Philip Davies MP | Conservative | Shipley |
| Paul Farrelly MP | Labour | Newcastle-under-Lyme |
| Alan Keen MP | Labour Co-op | Feltham and Heston |
| Adrian Sanders MP | Liberal Democrat | Torbay |
| Jim Sheridan MP | Labour | Paisley and Renfrewshire North |
| Tom Watson MP | Labour | West Bromwich East |

## Background

After several high-profile controversial events in football including but not limited to Thaksin Shinawatra's ownership of Manchester City F.C., leveraged buyouts by Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Liverpool F.C. and Malcolm Glazer at Manchester United, Portsmouth F.C.'s administration and four successive ownerships within the space of 12 months, public in-fighting within The Football Association, England's unsuccessful multi-million pound bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, record high amount of money being paid to sports agents and record numbers of clubs entering administration, there was scope to see what could be done to improve Governance of football in United Kingdom.

### Criticism

BBC's sports editor David Bond criticised the scope of the inquiry as being "too broad to deliver anything worthwhile".

## The inquiry

Members of the public were asked to submit written evidence for the inquiry, the following questions were asked:
* Should football clubs in the UK be treated differently from other commercial organisations?
* Are football governance rules in England and Wales, and the governing bodies which set and apply them, fit for purpose?
* Is there too much debt in the professional game?
* What are the pros and cons of the Supporter Trust share-holding model?
* Is Government intervention justified and, if so, what form should it take?
* Are there lessons to be learned from football governance models across the UK and abroad, and from governance models in other sports?
The Government published a 447-page document containing written information from members of the public, football supporters' trusts, universities and football clubs notably Chester F.C. and Scarborough Athletic F.C.
On 8 February 2011, the Committee held the first evidence session for its inquiry into football governance took place at Portcullis House.

### Witnesses

| Date | Witness(es) | Location | Available online |
| 8 February 2011 | Professor Stefan Szymanski, Cass Business School, Sean Hamil, Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, University of London, Patrick Collins, journalist, Mail on Sunday Lord Triesman Graham Kelly (football administrator) Lord Burns | Portcullis House | Video stream |
| 15 February 2011 | Greg Clarke, chairman, Football League Andy Williamson, chief operating officer, Football League Gordon Taylor OBE, chief executive, The PFA Paul Elliott MBE, trustee, The PPF | Portcullis House | Video stream |
| 8 March 2011 | David Gill, chief executive, Manchester United Peter Coates, chairman, Stoke City Tony Scholes, chief executive, Stoke City Niall Quinn MBE, chairman, Sunderland Rt Hon the Lord Mawhinney Rt Hon Henry McLeish | Palace of Westminster | Video stream |
| 15 March 2011 | Barry Kilby, chairman, Burnley Shaun Harvey, chief executive, Leeds United Julian Tag, vice-chairman, Exeter City John Bowler, chairman, Crewe Alexandra Dave Boyle, chief executive, Supporters Direct Malcolm Clarke, chair, Football Supporters Federation Steven Powell, director of policy and campaigns, Football Supporters Federation | Turf Moor Stadium | |
| 22 March 2011 | Ian Watmore, former chief executive, The Football Association Richard Bevan, chief executive, League Managers Association | Portcullis House | Video stream |
| 29 March 2011 | David Bernstein, chairman, The Football Association Alex Horne, general secretary, The Football Association Stewart Regan, chief executive, Scottish Football Association | Wembley Stadium | Video stream |
| 5 April 2011 | Dave Richards, chairman, Premier League Richard Scudamore, chief executive, Premier League; | Palace of Westminster | Video stream |
| 26 April 2011 | William Gaillard, adviser to the president, UEFA Hugh Robertson MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport and the Olympics, Department for Culture, Media and Sport | Palace of Westminster | Video stream |
| 10 May 2011 | Mike Lee, strategist behind the 2018 Qatar FIFA World Cup bid Lord Triesman, England 2018 World Cup bid | Palace of Westminster | Video stream |