The incoming football regulator has appointed a head of legal as it steps up plans to begin its work in earnest in 2025.
David Riley this week left his role as legal director of the Competition and Markets Authority to take up a role with the football body, where he will head up the legal team in a shadow phase while the Football Governance Bill is being established in parliament.
“The first job is to recruit a team of lawyers to work within the shadow regulator as the legislation progresses,” he said in a post on LinkedIn.
“These lawyers will play a central role in shaping the IFR legal function, and working with others to help the IFR prepare to deliver on its statutory objectives.
“For lawyers with a background in regulation, sports, finance or corporate governance, this should be a hugely exciting challenge.”
Stefan Borson, a lawyer and football finance expert, told City AM in August: “The work setting up the football regulator will be crucial to it being an effective body from day one. Yet the budget offered for what seems to be a key professional role is less than most London-based newly qualified lawyers are paid and only about the average weekly basic wage of a Premier League player.
“Given that the Premier League’s legal bill for last season alone was reported to be approaching £30m, the football regulator will find itself toothless without access to proper resources commensurate with the scope of its remit.”
The government introduced the bill in July following the general election and it is currently at committee stage in the House of Lords.
