What This Election Might Mean For English Football and Climate

We’re slap bang in the middle of the Euros and a General Election is upon us. Let’s take a look at what this election might mean for English Football and the climate agenda.

Political Football

Football has often been used as a political… (ahem), football, by politicians of all stripes, seemingly eager to come across as men-of-the-people. Think of Tony Blair’s (pretty impressive, to be fair) headers with Kevin Keegan back in 1995, ‘Call Me Dave’ Cameron’s Aston Villa/West Ham gaffe, or Rishi Sunak who recently asked a bunch of Welsh people if they’re looking forward to ‘all the football’. ‘Football obsessive’, Keir Starmer seems to be currently on some mad dash to visit every football club in the country and even launched Labour’s campaign from the pitch, at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium.

Impact on UK Football

Whether or not you believe Rishi Sunak really is a Southampton fan, or Keir Starmer a handy left winger, what will be the likely outcome for English football from the current election?

The most obvious impact has been the further delay of the Football Governance Bill, which will establish a new Independent Football Regulator (IFR). This could herald historic changes to the way English football is run, but has been pushed back due to the dissolution of parliament. 

Whoever forms the next government will need to revive the bill, which does have cross-party support, though has been previously delayed by the Conservative government, who were accused of ‘dragging their feet’ by Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, Thangham Debbonaire. All three of the major parties have committed in their manifestos to reviving the bill.

Opportunity for Sustainability

Although the bill is designed to secure a ‘sustainable future’ for football, the focus of the IFR will be almost entirely on financial regulation and its remit does not currently include any mention of environmental or sustainability concerns. This pause in play has given an unexpected opportunity for campaigners to push for an expansion of the IFR’s remit to include environmental sustainability. Football for Future has previously highlighted the numerous existential threats that climate breakdown poses to UK football and called for this to be made an integral part of the IFR.

Both Thangham Debbonaire and Keir Starmer have reportedly spoken positively about adding environmental sustainability to the IFR’s remit, and Dale Vince, Chairman of Forest Green Rovers and major Labour backer, has also called for sustainability to be built in. The Lib Dems have also made a manifesto commitment to incorporate equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the bill.

An Open Goal

The Football Governance Bill has the backing of the fans and has received broad support from all of the major parties. With the climate crisis wreaking ever more havoc on English sport and most politicians seeking to bolster their green credentials, surely integrating environmental sustainability into a ready made regulator is an easy win.

It’s an open goal.