Rick Parry offers EFL help as plans for football regulator make it into King's Speech

Pressure group Fair Game has praised it as an improvement on the last attempt at a law which amongst other things will create football's first regulator.

The Conservatives promised such a move in their 2019 manifesto and despite Premier League opposition were on course to deliver it only for it to fall by the wayside when a General Election was called for July.

But Parry was delighted to see the idea so quickly resurrected by the Labour government, and Fair Play chief executive Niall Couper said the new version was better.

“We very much welcome the commitment outlined in today’s King’s Speech that will see the re-introduction of the Football Governance Bill early in the new Parliament and we stand ready to work with the Government on any outstanding matters from the original bill and to then move it forward into legislation as quickly as possible," said Parry in a statement.

“We are encouraged by the new Prime Minister’s support for an independent regulator, alongside that of the many parliamentarians – both new and old – across the political spectrum. It is clear from the many conversations I have had since the General Election result that the football pyramid matters to those inside and outside the game.”

Parry has for years been arguing for more of the Premier League's television income to be shared with the Football League to reduce the financial chasm between the divisions. The bill will give the regulator powers to impose a settlement after Conservative hopes that the bodies could agree amongst themselves proved over-optimistic.

The Premier League's current broadcast deals are worth more than £3bn a year, set to reduce slightly with the new four-year domestic deal which begins in 2025 but still way ahead of all rival domestic football leagues. Around 16 per cent is distributed to clubs outside the Premier League. The Football League has asked for 25 per cent.

The Conservative version of the bill did not address the divisive issue of parachute payments, designed to stop clubs relegated from the Premier League facing the threat of bankruptcy as Leeds United and Bradford City did earlier in the century when the gap was much smaller. But around three quarters of the revenue the top-flight hands to the Football League goes to relegated clubs, distorting competition and making Parry a strident opponent.

Fair Game, set up to lobby for a fairer distribution of income amongst other things, are confident the second attempt at the bill will be more to their liking.

“The Labour government is making all the right noises about the remit of an independent football regulator and today’s proposal looks to go further than the previous Conservative bill," said Couper.

“At the moment, for every £1,000 given to a Premier League club from the current broadcast deal, just 14p goes to a club in the National League North or South.

“So it is brilliant news to hear the Government is firmly committed to delivering a fairer financial distribution at all levels of the football pyramid.

“But the devil will be in the detail.”

Couper told the Government: “Fair Game and our legal partners looked at the (previous) bill line by line and have identified the alteration needed to make it truly fit for purpose and stand ready to work closely with the Government to help deliver those changes.

“We have a fully prepared version that the new Government can deliver to create a fairer future for football.

"This is a real sliding doors’ moment.”