Former sports minister Tracey Crouch says the incoming football regulator should be run by someone with a background in the City.
Crouch has done more than anyone to give rise to the regulator by making it a key recommendation in her fan-led review of football governance.
A revised bill laying out the watchdog’s proposed powers was published last week and former Conservative MP Crouch believes it should be helmed by someone whose expertise lies primarily in finance, not football.
“Personally, I would love someone with a financial background with an interest and understanding in football as opposed to someone who has a football background with an interest in finance,” Crouch told the Not Just Football podcast sponsored by Sky Bet.
“This is about the financial sustainability in the game and it’s important that you understand how football works and that emotional connection, but I want people to understand things like capital inequity and solvency – all these issues the people in the City deal with on a day-to-day basis.”
The department for culture, media and sport (DCMS) has made a renewed push to recruit a chair for the regulator in a bid to attract interest from a broader pool of applicants.
However, concerns have been raised that the salaries on offer may be too low to match those at the banks, financial services and law firms with whom they may be competing.
Critics of Saudi Newcastle deal ‘overthinking’, says Crouch
The revised bill published last week revealed that the regulator would no longer have to consult UK foreign policy when considering the suitability of overseas buyers of English clubs.
Crouch accused critics of Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle United of “overthinking” it, given the same sovereign wealth fund also owns stakes in other companies.
“Sometimes, we overthink this aspect of football and ownership in football,” she added.
“I always find it slightly bizarre that people have strong views about PIF [Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund] ownership of Newcastle but don’t have strong views about PIF ownership of other things including significant stakes in Disney.
Former sports minister Crouch came up with the plans for the football regulator as part of her fan-led review
“The football regulator must be very clear in what it is responsible for, but I do think that we need to be careful about when we’re applying rules of ownership.
“They have to be beyond that emotion [of football] …that’s not what the football regulator is about. It’s about whether you’re able to run your football club in an appropriate way with the funds you don’t see at Bury.”