Ex-England manager Roy Hodgson joins football fan-led review panel

Ex-England manager Roy Hodgson joins football fan-led review panel

The UK government has named the full membership of the panel which will conduct the long-awaited fan-led review of football, including former players and managers, current administrators, representatives of non-league and the women’s game.

Participating members on the panel will include figures from Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, women’s and non-league, community and diversity based fan networks.

Furthermore, it was announced separately that ex-England manager Roy Hodgson will join the panel following his departure from top-tier team Crystal Palace as the 10th and final member.

Last month, the government announced its manifesto commitment to conduct a probe following the formation and subsequent collapse of the European Super League (ESL), which was initially backed by the ‘big six’ Premier League clubs.

Also joining former Sports Secretary, Tracey Crouch, on the panel will be Everton Chief Executive Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Cambridge United Director Godric Smith and James Tedford, former Southport FC secretary, who have been appointed as the panel’s club management experts.

The wholesale examination of English football’s financing structures will be led by football economist and former The Times executive editor Daniel Finkelstein and Dan Jones, partner of Football Finance.

Football governance will be probed by Dawn Airey, the FA Women’s Super League Chair, and David Mahoney, Chief Operating Officer, England and Wales Cricket Board.

Player interests and representation will be led by former Burnley player Clark Carlisle as Chair of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and pro-sports mental health awareness advocate.

The panel’s fan interests will be maintained by Kevin Miles, the chief executive of the Football Supporters Association – which the Labour Party criticised stating that the panel’s make-up failed to represent the paying public’s interests.

The review will canvass supporters’ views on ownership, governance and financial flows within the game, supplementing the recommendations of the English Football League’s (EFL) Governance Review and the Government’s 2016 Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement.

Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, remarked: “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.”

In addition, the panel 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 EFL.

“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,” added Fan-Led Review Chair Crouch. “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.”

Updating stakeholders, Oliver Dowden said that 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.

Culture Secretary Dowden, 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.”

A handful of prominent football figures, including former players Gary Neville, Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand, petitioned for the creation of a new regulatory body within the sport.

The fan-led review will get underway today with a financial report with a final report expected in the Autumn.

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