What does the pledge mean? 

A Football Governance Bill was first introduced to Parliament by the previous Conservative government in March 2024, but it didn’t pass into law before Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election. That bill would have established an independent regulator. 

In its election manifesto Labour pledged to “introduce a Football Governance Bill, which will establish an independent regulator to ensure financial sustainability of football clubs in England”. 

Although the pledge specifically referred to the regulation of football clubs in England, it’s worth noting that some Welsh football teams play in English football leagues. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has told Full Fact that the regulatory regime will apply to clubs in the top five tiers of English men’s football, which does include some Welsh teams. 

What progress has been made?

Given this pledge was only to “introduce” a bill, we’ve rated it as “Achieved”. 

On 24 October 2024, the government introduced what it called a “strengthened” Football Governance Bill in the House of Lords, which, if passed, will establish an independent regulator.

This bill made some changes to the version introduced earlier in the year by the Conservatives, such as requiring clubs to provide “effective engagement” with supporters over changes to ticket prices, and removing the need for the regulator to “consider government foreign policy and trade when approving club takeovers”. 

The bill has not yet become law, however. Its second reading in the House of Lords was on 13 November, and it will also later need to pass through the Commons.