The Political Economy of Football V2

Karren Brady sets out the case against having an independent regulator of football on the grounds of damage to the Premier League by 'meddling' politicians.  Somehow she manages to drag Stoke City into the argument, a misplaced example that doesn't prove anything one way or another:  https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-ffp-karren-brady-7025974 One thing that is clear to me is that the regulator should not be a serving politician.  As for damage, some might argue that the Premier League has caused a lot of damage itself - as well as some achievements.  The details of the regulation proposal need to be scrutinised carefully, but attempts by the Premier League to derail the idea in principle have already failed.

Senior officials responsible for the development of the London Stadium have admitted that they 'got it wrong' over the design of the retractable seats that have become one of the biggest contributors to the stadium's financial problems. The £8m cost of removing and reinstating the retractable seats each summer could have been avoided, the London Assembly's budget monitoring committee was told yesterday. David Edmonds, the former chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said that the seats were one of three big issues facing the stadium. The others were failing to secure a naming rights partner (not surprising given all the problems that have been encountered) and being unable to attract more events to the venue. Edmonds also admitted that the LLDC was forced to give into West Ham United's demands during negotiations to rent the stadium as they were the only bid left. 'West Ham were very hard, very tough negotiators,' he said. He also admit...