Government must cut red tape to fuel football stadium development

Investing in a football stadium can be the difference between sinking and swimming and the government must play a role, writes Joseph Smith. It is fair to say that the Independent Football Regulator’s draft State of the Game report provides the most comprehensive analysis of English football’s finances to date. Published last week and open for consultation until the end of the year, it highlights that while English football is both highly competitive and wealthy it faces significant financial risk. The report’s key findings? That 94 per cent of clubs in the top five divisions – from the Premier League down to the National League – operated at a loss, and that two thirds could not survive 90 days without additional funding from existing owners. Nearly 20 EFL and National League clubs reported non-player operating cost figures that were higher than their total revenues. The regulator was established because parliament determined that football clubs are not ordinary businesses. S