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Football Association faces 'no confidence' vote from MPs as they debate using law to force reformThe Telegraph
Ben Riley-Smith 8 hours ago
The Football Association will on Thursday face a historic “no confidence” vote from MPs in the wake of a Telegraph investigation into corruption in the sport.
MPs will vote on whether the time has come for football’s governing body to be forced by law to restructure to make it more independent.
Legislation is being drawn up by a cross-party committee of MPs to force the FA to put on its board a majority of independent members.
There is fury in parts of Whitehall that despite repeated calls for restructuring the FA has failed to change its governance sufficiently.
The vote follows a 10-month Telegraph investigation into football that led to Sam Allardyce's departure as England managerjust weeks after taking the role.
He was filmed offering advice to businessmen on how to “get around” FA rules on player transfers as while talking to undercover reporters.
The investigation raised serious questions about whether the rules for football agents are working, especially around player transfers.
The Commons culture committee, made up of MPs from all parties, have been calling on the FA to reform itself to make it more independent for years.
Now, after a series of scandals and inaction, the committee has tabled a motion of no confidence that will voted on next Thursday.
If the motion is adopted, it would effectively mean Britain’s elected representatives were saying the body governing the nation’s favourite sport is unfit for purpose.
The motion also includes a call for changes to be forced on the FA by legislation – something that some MPs may be wary to back.
In December, five former senior FA officials from the FA, including three past Chairmen, asked for Parliament to pass legislation to reform the governance structures of the organisation
Damian Collins, the Tory MP and chairman of the committee, told The Telegraph: “The FA is certainly not compliant with the government's proposed gold standard code for good governance for national governing bodies of sports in this country.
“In particular, it does not have enough women or independent members of its board. Whilst the government is threatening to withdraw public funding from those bodies that do not comply, this will not be seen as a significant challenge to the football authorities, which generate vast sums of money for themselves through broadcasting deals and sponsorship. I believe that the only way reform of the FA can be achieved, will be through legislation.”
The draft legislation is being worked up by the committee and is expected to be tabled before Parliament in spring or early summer.
It has two key proposals. The first is that the FA board – its key decision-making body – must have a majority of independent members.
Currently just three of the 12 board members are independent, while professional leagues – the Premier League and the Football League – have four representatives.
MPs pushing the vote have concerns that the Premier League and other figures involved in the national game for years are reluctant to reform.
Making the FA more independent would allow them to tighten rules on unscrupulous club owners and rogue football agents, they argue.
The second change would see the FA Council – a separate part of the organisation – lose its ability to veto changes agreed by the board.
The legislation, which is being pushed by backbenchers, would be unlikely to be come into force unless it is adopted by the Government.
Government sources said the focus was getting the FA to reform by April to get in line with their new governance guidance. Failure to do so would likely see the FA lose its £30m public funding.
Former FA chiefs call on MPs for major reform
The Football Association is "out of balance", filled with "elderly white men" and should be reformed, five former executives of the governing body have claimed.
Ben Riley-Smith 8 hours ago
The Football Association will on Thursday face a historic “no confidence” vote from MPs in the wake of a Telegraph investigation into corruption in the sport.
MPs will vote on whether the time has come for football’s governing body to be forced by law to restructure to make it more independent.
Legislation is being drawn up by a cross-party committee of MPs to force the FA to put on its board a majority of independent members.
There is fury in parts of Whitehall that despite repeated calls for restructuring the FA has failed to change its governance sufficiently.
The vote follows a 10-month Telegraph investigation into football that led to Sam Allardyce's departure as England managerjust weeks after taking the role.
He was filmed offering advice to businessmen on how to “get around” FA rules on player transfers as while talking to undercover reporters.
The investigation raised serious questions about whether the rules for football agents are working, especially around player transfers.
The Commons culture committee, made up of MPs from all parties, have been calling on the FA to reform itself to make it more independent for years.
Now, after a series of scandals and inaction, the committee has tabled a motion of no confidence that will voted on next Thursday.
If the motion is adopted, it would effectively mean Britain’s elected representatives were saying the body governing the nation’s favourite sport is unfit for purpose.
The motion also includes a call for changes to be forced on the FA by legislation – something that some MPs may be wary to back.
In December, five former senior FA officials from the FA, including three past Chairmen, asked for Parliament to pass legislation to reform the governance structures of the organisation
Damian Collins, the Tory MP and chairman of the committee, told The Telegraph: “The FA is certainly not compliant with the government's proposed gold standard code for good governance for national governing bodies of sports in this country.
“In particular, it does not have enough women or independent members of its board. Whilst the government is threatening to withdraw public funding from those bodies that do not comply, this will not be seen as a significant challenge to the football authorities, which generate vast sums of money for themselves through broadcasting deals and sponsorship. I believe that the only way reform of the FA can be achieved, will be through legislation.”
The draft legislation is being worked up by the committee and is expected to be tabled before Parliament in spring or early summer.
It has two key proposals. The first is that the FA board – its key decision-making body – must have a majority of independent members.
Currently just three of the 12 board members are independent, while professional leagues – the Premier League and the Football League – have four representatives.
MPs pushing the vote have concerns that the Premier League and other figures involved in the national game for years are reluctant to reform.
Making the FA more independent would allow them to tighten rules on unscrupulous club owners and rogue football agents, they argue.
The second change would see the FA Council – a separate part of the organisation – lose its ability to veto changes agreed by the board.
The legislation, which is being pushed by backbenchers, would be unlikely to be come into force unless it is adopted by the Government.
Government sources said the focus was getting the FA to reform by April to get in line with their new governance guidance. Failure to do so would likely see the FA lose its £30m public funding.
Former FA chiefs call on MPs for major reform
The Football Association is "out of balance", filled with "elderly white men" and should be reformed, five former executives of the governing body have claimed.