Football Governance: time for an independent commission

Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, I called for the establishment of an independent commission, representative of the whole game, to comprehensively review football’s governance to make it more effective, inclusive, and no longer subject to conflicting vested interests. Moving an amendment to the party’s policy on football, I focused my fire particularly on the FA… Continue reading Football Governance: time for an independent commission

FA dismissal: Edward Lord will still lead the way in UK sport

Letter of support which appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 23 September 2014 following my removal from the FA Inclusion Advisory Board. My thanks go to all those who signed it.  SIR – Having known and worked with Edward Lord, the inclusion adviser dismissed by the Football Association last week, we are surprised by the FA’s… Continue reading FA dismissal: Edward Lord will still lead the way in UK sport

Football: Time for tougher sanctions on fans who discriminate and the clubs that tolerate them?

Channel 4’s Dispatches programme broadcast on Monday evening, which focused on racist, antisemitic, Islamaphobic, and homophobic conduct by fans of a number of English football clubs has inevitably resulted in many friends and colleagues expressing horror about this misbehaviour and the damage it does to the reputation of our national game. Moreover people have turned to… Continue reading Football: Time for tougher sanctions on fans who discriminate and the clubs that tolerate them?