New Football Governance Bill praised by club

Northampton Town has been "ahead of the curve" on fan engagement, its chairman said

Northampton Town Football Club said it was a "very positive" move to establish an independent regulator in the elite men's game.

The Football Governance Bill would give the regulator "new powers" on fan engagement and club finances, the government said.

It followed Sir Keir Starmer consulting officials at Sixfields in June to discuss potential legislation.

Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas said the club had been "ahead of the curve for some time now" on engaging with its supporters.

The regulator is due to have more power over the Premier League's multi-million pound "parachute payments" under the new bill, which will be introduced on Thursday in the House of Lords in an attempt to speed up the legislation.

It would also "explicitly require clubs to provide effective engagement" with fans on changes to ticket prices and any proposals to relocate home grounds.

Sir Keir Starmer heard about Northampton Town's impact on the community ahead of becoming prime minister

Mr Thomas said Northampton had been leading the way with its own schemes, such as having elected fan representative, Tom Cliffe.

"We will now take time to study the detail in the bill, but we believe this to be a very positive move for football in this country," he said.

'Good for the game'

Mr Cliffe, who is also the chairman of the Northampton Town Fan Advisory Board, said the new law was "very good news".

"Football in this country has long been in need of serious financial reform to ensure the sustainability of clubs at all levels of the pyramid," he said.

The supporter added not all clubs were "as fortunate as we are" at Northampton.

"So having that made official through legislation can only be good for the game as a whole," he added.