“We are delighted to have secured this partnership. Along with ESM’s innovative web-platform their approach to partnerships has built them a reputation for integrity across the world of football. It’s clear that there is both ESM and Fair Game support the aim of stopping more clubs going bust by achieving greater fairness and sustainability in football.”

Niall Couper

“There are some referees that have reached the dizzying heights [of the Premier League] who have shortfalls in capability and I don’t think they are good enough.”

Keith Hackett

Greg Campbell, co-author of Code, said:

“Good governance is at the heart of sustainability for any organisation or business. There is little doubt that football needs the added structure to ensure its longevity, so that it can ensure clubs are well run and engage effectively with their fans and their communities.”

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said:

“The Premier League need to re-look at this deal and take a holistic view of what is happening on the ground in our national game. Clubs lower down the pyramid are struggling to pay their energy bills and are forced to cut back on community programmes.”

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said:

"Football urgently needs a fair financial flow. At the top of the game the £100m transfer has been normalised. Yet lower down the pyramid, clubs are struggling to pay their energy bills, community programmes are being cut and some are even worried whether they will survive the season.

"The Premier League is the de facto ruler of the game in England right now. Our hope is that they show some proper leadership, back the deal favoured by fans across the country and support clubs throughout the pyramid - clubs that are the heartbeat of their local communities.

"And if they fail, then for the sake of football, we call on the Government to step in and give the power of financial oversight and distribution to a new Independent Regulator. Only then will the future of the game be secure."

“If we are to get a Game we can truly be proud of then the big questions cannot be ducked or ignored. Football needs a fairer financial flow, it needs to embed good governance, truly respect its fans, and become leaders on ethics, environment and equality standards. Our political leaders hold the key to deliver that future. They musn’t waste it.”

Niall Couper, CEO, Fair Game

“It is great news that there will be a regulator for English football, but as ever the devil is in the detail.

“The back stop powers need to be firmed up to help protect the pyramid.

“There is no doubt that the financial flow in football needs to be addressed. A system where the game receives £3.19bn of TV revenue each year, but clubs in League One can’t afford to pay their energy bills, the hiring of a kit manager in the National League is considered a luxury, and indeed a club’s very survival is a daily concern is clearly flawed.

“At the moment, for every £1000 of TV revenue, £882 goes to Premier League clubs, but £32.85 to most Championship sides and just 15p to National League South clubs.

“The omission of equality standards and environmental standards from the regulator seems short-sighted, and we would urge the government to allow the regulator to have the powers to look at those areas in the years ahead.”

Niall Couper, CEO, Fair Game

“The £100m transfer has become normalised, meanwhile clubs in League One are struggling to pay their energy bills, having a paid kit man in the National League is now considered a luxury, and community programmes are being slashed. Since the start of the Premier League, 64 clubs in the top four divisions have gone into administration. Football needs a financial reset. The time is now to introduce Tracey Crouch’s Transfer levy.”

Niall Couper, CEO, Fair Game

“On the one hand we have normalised the £100m transfer. On the other, Fair Game research has revealed that 39 clubs are technically insolvent. And since the start of the Premier League 64 clubs in our top four divisions have gone into administration. No wonder there is growing support for a ‘solidarity levy’.”

Niall Couper, CEO, Fair Game

FAIR GAME today revealed the top clubs in the English football pyramid in an exclusive video. The Fair Game Index rated the top 92 clubs in the pyramid through 80 different touchpoints across four criteria: Financial Sustainability, Good Governance, Equality Standards and Good Governance.

The Index comes in the wake of a commitment from the Government to introduce a new Independent Regulator into football, a new state of play survey for football and a determination to oversee football’s financial flow.

And with the possible demise of Southend United, and question marks over both Reading and Barnsley it couldn’t be more timely.

Forget Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, the top six best run clubs in England are all in the EFL. Read the results in the most comprehensive survey on English football ever conducted: The Fair Game Index

FAIR GAME today named the club with the best record when it comes to Fan Engagement. The top three clubs are AFC Wimbledon, Carlisle United and Exeter City. Comedian, co-host of the Price of Football podcast and avid Crystal Palace fan Kevin Day, revealed the winner in the video above.

Huge thanks must go to long-term supporters of Fair Game Think Fan Engagement for providing most of the data for this strand.

FAIR GAME today named the club with the best record when it comes to Equality Standards. The top three clubs are Huddersfield Town, Lincoln City and Southampton. Former Aston Villa, Cambridge United, Leicester City, Manchester United and England star Dion Dublin, now famous as a presenter for Homes Under The Hammer, revealed the winner in the video above.

The scoring came from publicly available data and involved analysis of over 20 different touchpoints. The data was collated by Fair Game’s team of researchers led by Jack Ruane. Thanks must also go to our friends at Sporting Equals who helped guide the team in the development of the criteria.

FAIR GAME this afternoon has revealed the best ranked football club in England when it comes to good governance. The top three clubs are Cambridge United, Carlisle United and Lincoln City.

Huge Bolton fan Ruth Madeley, famed for her roles in Years and Years, The Rook and Doctor Who, and her BAFTA-nominated performance in Don’t Take Me Baby, revealed the winner.

The Good Governance scoring was a combination of data from Fair Square, Responsiball, HerGameToo and Fair Game researchers under the guidance of Jack Ruane with advice from Rob Harrison, director of Ethical Consumer.

The top three clubs are Plymouth Argyle, Forest Green Rovers and Portsmouth, and it was left to TalkSport presenter to reveal the winner.

The scoring came from publicly available financial data and was crunched by a wide range of financial experts from across the UK, including Mark Middling, lecturer of accounting at Northumbria University; former EFL finance analyst and founder of Goal Assist Joshua Price; finance expert and consultant for Sheffield Hallam University Adam Davis; lecturer Dan Plumley from Sheffield University; Christina Philippou senior finance lecturer at Portsmouth University; and Richard Evans lecturer at Birkbeck College.

“We both believe football can help bring people together, transcend boundaries and inspire positive change. This partnerships opens the door for our members to use their research and knowledge and apply them to the football.”

Paul Widdop, Co-founder Football Collective

“Football is at a crossroads. The arrival of the regulator represents a huge opportunity for football to change. We need a game that is more sustainable. A game that looks at helping the entire pyramid. Fair Game have made great strides over the last two years in giving clubs lower down the pyramid a voice and we want to be part of that.”

Rob Angus, Swindon Town CEO

“The sad news about Wigan is the latest wake up call for football. the current system cannot be allowed to continue. We need an independent regulator and, crucially, financial flow that rewards well-run clubs.”

Niall Couper, Fair Game CEO

“The sad news about Wigan is the latest wake up call for football. the current system cannot be allowed to continue. We need an independent regulator and, crucially, financial flow that rewards well-run clubs.”

Niall Couper, Fair Game CEO

“Football is being used as a real positive – positive for individuals, communities and society – and you only have to look at the brilliant outreach programmes that are offered by all of our football clubs across the county to see how important they are to their communities.

“But what happens when this goes wrong? Following the pandemic, many teams outside the Premier League are struggling financially, and if you add mismanagement into that, you have a situation that could threaten the very existence of the club.”

Council leader Cllr Lezley Picton