The Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025
- Department: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Made under: Football Governance Act 2025
The Regulations prescribed the top five tiers of the men’s English football pyramid as 'specified competitions' for the Football Governance Act 2025.
These Regulations, made under the Football Governance Act 2025, officially designate the top five tiers of the men's English football pyramid—the Premier League, the Championship, League One, League Two, and the Premier Division of the National League—as 'specified competitions' to which the Act's provisions apply, effective from November 24, 2025, and extending to England and Wales.
Arguments For
These regulations formally establish which English football leagues fall under the scope of the Football Governance Act 2025, establishing a clear legal framework for governance oversight.
By specifying the top five tiers (Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, and National League Premier Division), the regulations ensure a consistent application of any new governance standards across the highest levels of the English football pyramid.
The requirement that the Secretary of State is content that teams in these competitions are exclusively or predominantly English satisfies a prerequisite for applying the Act, grounding the legislation in national sporting context.
Arguments Against
Excluding lower tiers of the football pyramid means those leagues will not benefit from the governance oversight introduced by the Football Governance Act 2025, potentially creating an uneven application of standards.
Defining the scope by current administrative bodies (Football Association Premier League Limited, Football League Limited, Football Conference Limited) creates a dependency; changes in the administration or structure of these leagues might necessitate future amendments to these regulations.
The legislation relies on a pre-existing impact assessment for the main Act, meaning any specific impacts arising from the selection of these specific competitions are not newly assessed under these Regulations.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(3) of the Football Governance Act 2025.
The Secretary of State is content that for each competition specified in these Regulations, the teams entered into that competition, or that are members of it or participate in it, are exclusively or predominantly English teams.
In accordance with section 91(3)(a)(i) of that Act, a draft of this instrument was laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
The Secretary of State is issuing these rules based on authority granted by section 2(3) of the Football Governance Act 2025.
The Secretary of State confirms that the football competitions being named here are either entirely or mostly composed of English teams, satisfying a condition required by the Act.
Furthermore, a preliminary version of this instrument received approval from both Houses of Parliament, as required by section 91(3)(a)(i) of the principal Act.
- Citation, commencement and extent
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 24th November 2025.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
This section details how the instrument is formally named: the Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025.
The rules become legally active on November 24, 2025.
The geographic scope of these regulations covers both England and Wales.
- Specified competitions
For the purposes of the Football Governance Act 2025 a “specified competition” means the following association football competitions—
(a) the Premier League competition, organised and administered by the Football Association Premier League Limited;
(b) the Championship, League One and League Two competitions, organised and administered by the Football League Limited; and
(c) the Premier Division of the National League competition, organised and administered by the Football Conference Limited,
in each case comprising clubs which are for the time being, full or associate members of that body.
This rule defines which league competitions are officially considered 'specified competitions' under the governance Act.
It names the Premier League, run by the Football Association Premier League Limited, as a specified competition.
It also names Tier 2, 3, and 4 competitions (Championship, League One, and League Two), run by the Football League Limited, as specified.
Finally, the Premier Division of the National League, administered by the Football Conference Limited, is also included, provided the participating clubs are current members of those respective organizations.
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