Stephanie Peacock: Fairer distribution of Premier League money required to ward off threat laid bare in State of the Game report

If you support Sheffield Wednesday for example, the idea that a proud, historic football club could be just one bad owner away from disaster will not have come as news.

Speaking to passionate members of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust, alongside dedicated local MPs and parliamentarians, at the height of last season’s crisis really brought home that we cannot let this keep happening.

This Government fought hard in the face of fierce opposition to introduce the Independent Football Regulator because we knew that English football, for all its apparent riches, was in a financially perilous place. To see the full reality laid bare like it is in this report, though, is alarming.

We are not just talking about one or two troubled clubs living close to the brink. We are talking about an unsustainable, high-risk culture that has infected our national game. According to the IFR’s report, more than a quarter of the clubs that make up our top five divisions would go under within a month if their owner pulled funding or walked away.

That’s 30-odd clubs that have been the bedrock of their communities for, in cases like Sheffield Wednesday’s, well over a century, that could be wiped out in 30 days.

It’s hundreds of thousands of loyal supporters who might suddenly find their beloved club collapse.

Thankfully, Sheffield Wednesday are on more secure footing now, but I’ve seen first-hand how the turmoil of recent years has been felt right across the city and in people’s everyday lives.

Wednesday showed exactly why an independent regulator was long overdue and this report is further vindication for those of us who put so much effort into getting it off the ground. But that is no cause for celebration - it is cause for action.

First and foremost, we need a new distribution deal that guarantees a fairer flow of money down through the football pyramid.

When we set up the IFR, we gave it the power to step in and impose such a deal, but only as a last resort. As a Government, our preference has always been for football to come to an agreement on its own terms and I know that negotiations between the Premier League and EFL are ongoing. I am hopeful that there will be positive news on that front soon.

Secondly, and more broadly, we need a culture shift. We need long-term sustainability to be as much of a driver as short-term success. As the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said this week, we need owners to think of themselves not just as custodians of their clubs, but of our game at large.

For all the challenges, I am optimistic. There are many examples of responsible owners right through our pyramid, and of clubs doing things the right way. The IFR is not even a year old and is already having a real impact in putting fans back at the heart of the game.

English football remains an undoubted success story; one of our greatest cultural exports and a source of national pride. Most of all, football belongs to its fans. It is nothing without them, we are on their side and we will always fight for them.

Stephanie Peacock is the Minister for Sport.