The Sports Law Podcast 17 - The Impact of the Football Governance Act on Dispute Resolution in Football
Dec 4, 2025
Guest
Celia Rooney
Guest
Shane Sibbel
Guest
Marlena Valles
Guest
James Segan KC
Guest
Tom Richards KC
Guest
Adam Lewis
Adam Lewis KC, Tom Richards KC, James Segan KC, Marlena Valles, Shane Sibbel, and Celia Rooney delve into the complexities of the Football Governance Act. They discuss how this new regulation will reshape dispute resolution in football, including the role of the Independent Football Regulator. Topics include the suitability tests for club owners, investigatory powers under the Act, and the shift from confidential arbitration to more open scrutiny. The panel highlights the potential impact on fan engagement and the delicate balance between regulatory enforcement and maintaining competitive integrity.
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Episode notes
Private Foundations With Public Law Overlay
- The FA and Premier League regimes rest on private contractual frameworks, not statute, so disputes start with contract law principles.
- Public-law standards overlay these contracts, requiring governing bodies to act fairly and rationally in disciplinary regulation.
Regulator Built Around Financial Objectives
- The Football Governance Act creates a new independent regulator with explicit objectives focused on financial soundness, resilience and heritage.
- Those objectives steer the regulator toward heavy use of licensing and financial oversight tools rather than sporting sanctions.
Licensing, Not Immediate Closures, Will Drive Change
- The Act empowers the IFR to impose mandatory and wide discretionary licence conditions covering finances, governance and fan engagement.
- In practice the IFR will likely use discretionary licence conditions to manage troubled clubs instead of immediate license revocations.
