WIREDGOV

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden recently (21 May 2021) announced the full membership of the panel which will join Chair Tracey Crouch MP as she commences the Government’s fan-led review of football.

In the aftermath of the failed European Super League bid, the Government announced its manifesto commitment to conduct the review and published its Terms of Reference last month.

The panel features fan representation at its heart and also includes former players and managers, current administrators, representatives of non-league and the women’s game as well as independent members. The Chair and panel will now begin a series of roundtable meetings that will reach out to fans and football organisations throughout the football pyramid, to hear their views on the future of the national game.

Representation will be from the whole football pyramid with Premier League, Championship, Women’s, League One and Two and Non-league, Community and Diversity based fan networks asked to participate.

The full panel is as follows:

• Kevin Miles (Chief Executive, The Football Supporters’ Association)
• Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale (Chief Executive, Everton FC)
• Clarke Carlisle (former Burnley player and former Chair of Professional Footballers Association)
• Dan Jones (Partner, Football Finance)
• Dawn Airey (Chair, FA Women’s Super League)
• David Mahoney (Chief Operating Officer, England and Wales Cricket Board)
• James Tedford (Former Secretary, Southport FC)
• Godric Smith (Director, Cambridge United)
• Danny Finkelstein, independent member

The Chair and panel will canvass fans’ views on ownership, governance and financial flows within the game. It will add to the recommendations of the English Football League’s Governance Review and the Government’s 2016 Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement.

In addition, they will assess if there is a need for an independent football regulator, charged with implementing regulation and compliance, and how that could work within the existing framework provided by the Football Association, Premier League and English Football League.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden recently said:

This expert panel brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience from across the football family to shape the future of our national game.

Their job will be to listen to fans and ensure their views are at the heart of reforms on governance, finance and improving day to day experience of supporters. Football is nothing without fans, and today we deliver on our promise to put them in the driving seat.

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston recently said:

This is a groundbreaking moment in football. We have been clear that this is a wide ranging review and we have given the Chair and panel a broad scope to consider ownership models, financial flows and independent regulation.

The review could herald a step change in our approach to football governance and I look forward to seeing the recommendations.”

Fan-led Review Chair, Tracey Crouch recently said:

I am thrilled to have such a strong team with a wealth of experience across the whole ecosystem of football to help support the fan-led review. The fans will be at the heart of the review panel’s work and I look forward to kicking off the formal meetings with fan groups and others next week.

The focal point of the review panel will be to engage with fan groups, to hear views on what they believe needs changing in football governance. The Chair will meet regularly with the panel and fan groups in order to move forward with its engagement and reform agenda and will feed into the final report expected in the Autumn.

Further plans around the initial fan engagement sessions will be set out in due course.

Panel biographies

Kevin Miles

Kevin Miles is the Chief Executive of the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), having worked for the FSA and its predecessor organisations for over twenty years.

A match-going Newcastle United fan for more than half a century and a member of the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust, Kevin has also led the Fans’ Embassy service at England away games since 1998.

A founder member and former chair of anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card, Kevin is now an independent trustee of Kick It Out and the proud owner of two £1 shares in Blyth Spartans AFC.

Clarke Carlisle

Clarke Carlisle is an English former professional footballer who has played with many clubs including Queen’s Park Rangers and Leeds United. He is an ambassador for Kick It Out - football’s equality and inclusion organisation, and was chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association. He has provided football commentary and analysis for the BBC, ITV and Sky Sports amongst other broadcasters.

Dan Jones

Dan Jones leads Deloitte’s work in sport around the world. He manages activities of the group across all services. Dan advises high profile clients including clubs, leagues, governing bodies, governments, agencies, investors and commercial partners on issues including strategic, commercial, financial, regulatory, organisational and structural matters. He is a regular speaker and expert commentator on sports business and edits Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance and the Football Money League.

Denise Barrett-Baxendale

Prof Denise Barrett-Baxendale, MBE, is a Director at Everton Football Club, Chief Executive Officer of Everton Football Club and Executive Chair of the Club’s official charity, Everton in the Community. Denise has served as a Board member to Sport England; the only representative from the world of football appointed to the Board of the national body for grassroots sports.

Danny Finkelstein

Daniel Finkelstein writes a weekly political column for The Times. Before joining the paper in 2001, he was adviser to both the Prime Minister John Major and the Conservative leader William Hague. Daniel was appointed to the House of Lords in 2013. He has been a match attending football fan for 50 years and for almost two decades wrote a column on football for The Times.

David Mahoney

David is currently Chief Operating Officer at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Prior to this, he oversaw the strategy, insights, HR, integrity and public policy teams as ECB’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Before joining ECB, David held a number of senior roles at Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, including director of policy and chief advisor to its CEO.

Godric Smith

Godric Smith is a board member at Cambridge United FC and a founding member of Cambridge Fans United, started his career in mental health campaigning in1980s before spending 15 years in government communications, including 10 years in Downing Street.

James Tedford

James Tedford was the former Secretary at Southport FC. He has an extensive knowledge of the football landscape and held a senior management position at Scottish Women’s Champions, Glasgow City FC where he led on match organisation for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Dawn Airey

Dawn Airey is currently Chair of the FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s championship and is a non-executive member of the boards of Getty Images, Grosvenor Estates and Blackbird, having formerly led Channel 5. She is also chair of the National Youth Theatre and the Digital Theatre.