Kick It Out warns regulator proposals risk weakening equality agenda

Kick It Out has raised concerns that the latest plans for English football’s independent regulator could dilute the game’s commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion.The anti-discrimination organisation said revisions to the Football Governance Bill appear to remove or weaken language that would have placed equality considerations at the centre of the regulator’s work.Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett said the shift risks undermining progress made across the professional game in tackling discrimination and improving representation.Burnett said: “It’s really important that equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded in the work of the regulator from the start."If we don’t get this right now, there’s a risk that these issues become an afterthought rather than something that is fundamental to how the game is governed."The UK government has been developing legislation to create an independent regulator for English football following the fan-led review of the sport’s governance.The regulator is expected to oversee club licensing, financial sustainability and ownership tests, with the aim of protecting clubs and supporters after a series of financial crises and governance failures across the pyramid.Kick It Out argues that oversight of equality standards should also form part of the regulator’s mandate, particularly given the continuing prevalence of discrimination in the game.Burnett said football authorities have made public commitments on diversity but warned those pledges must be backed by structural accountability.He added: “The victim should always be the priority. Too often we see statements and promises, but not the action or the systemic change that follows.”The organisation believes the regulator could help drive stronger standards across the professional game by embedding equality expectations within club licensing requirements.That could include requirements around inclusive hiring practices, anti-discrimination policies and the handling of abuse directed at players, staff and supporters.The debate highlights a wider tension around the regulator’s role, with policymakers balancing calls for stronger oversight against concerns from parts of the industry about regulatory overreach.For equality campaigners, however, the priority is ensuring the new body does not focus solely on financial governance while leaving wider cultural issues to existing football authorities.Kick It Out said the creation of a regulator represents a rare opportunity to strengthen accountability structures in the English game and ensure equality commitments are built into football’s governance framework from the outset.