Less than a week before David Bernstein is confirmed as the new Football Association chairman, the sports minister today lambasted football as "without a shadow of a doubt" the "worst governed sport in the country".
In comments that will cheer those who feared that the government would back away from pre-election pledges to reform football, Hugh Robertson promised MPs he would act after a pending report by the Commons media select committee. "Issues of football governance need attention and need action and that is precisely why the select committee has responded to levels of anxiety across the House and announced their investigation," said Robertson. "If you look across sport, it is very clear to me that football is the worst governed sport in this country, without a shadow of a doubt."
Robertson, who like the previous government is believed to favour the addition of nonexecutive directors to the main FA board and reform of the antiquated FA Council, will consider the issue as the select committee hears evidence from all the main players in English football.
The FA, the Premier League, the Football League and fans' groups have until Wednesday to prepare their submissions to the committee, chaired by the Conservative John Whittingdale. The government is expected to act in May following the committee's report.
"The levels of corporate governance that apply to football, a point often addressed by [Labour], lag far behind other sports and other sports are by no means beacons in this regard," said Robertson. "So action is needed and the government will take it, but it wants to see the results of that select committee first."
An FA spokesman said: "The FA will be contributing positively to the select committee's broad inquiry on football, including on matters of governance, and looks forward to a continued dialogue with the government and others on these issues."
Bernstein, the former Manchester City and Wembley stadium chairman, will be officially anointed as FA chairman on Tuesday following a meeting of the FA Council. He said last month that he had an open mind on issues of reform. But some in the FA fear Robertson's words could have a counterproductive effect among those in football who recoil from government interference.
Five years ago, an independent report by Lord Burns recommended the addition of two nonexecutive directors to the main FA board to improve the quality of decision-making and break interminable deadlocks between the professional game and the so-called national game.
Although successive Labour sports ministers called for action, there has been little progress on that issue, nor on reforming the FA Council to make it a more inclusive and representative "football parliament".
On the issue of fan ownership, Robertson said he "acknowledged" the part fans could play in running clubs but added that there were many different types of football ownership which made it difficult to impose a "one-size fits all" set of improvements upon teams.
