The fallout of Ipswich Town’s appearance in promotional material released by Reform UK has dominated the media this week. But it’s a throwaway comment from Nigel Farage that has spun the interest of our man Alex Miller.
“Football clubs should want to talk to me,” Nigel Farage stated with a trademark hubris. “You know why? The government is about to bring in a football regulator, and I think the last thing English football needs – given what a massive success the Premier League is – is a state-appointed regulator.”
In order to avoid the oh-so emotional accusations of snidery that come with any talk of politics in 2026, let me start this opinion column by placing cards firmly on the table. This writer is no fan of Nigel Farage, the rhetoric he thrives on or what so much of his politics represents. And for the benefit of the argument posed, we’ll end it there.
This football column is not about the wider argument of his politics. It is centred only on the comment above - one that should be of interest to supporters of Sheffield Wednesday. And to those of Bury. And to Reading and Macclesfield and Portsmouth and Wrexham and Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic and every other club that has tasted what Wednesdayites have swallowed in the last year.
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EFL football is broken. As penned by the Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan this week, the pyramid is buckling and the sums of money clubs are funnelling out is unsustainable. Wandering the grounds of England this year as a Sheffield Wednesday reporter in conversation with colleagues and fans from elsewhere, the realisation is that while the Owls’ plight is unique and painful and so deeply concerning from the eye of the storm, there are so many clubs that have felt those winds. And there are more to come.
The dawn of the Independent Football Regulator is upon us and the feeling from the majority seems to be that it comes not a month too soon. Quite how a state-appointed regulatory body intends to go about fixing the game in practice will make for fascinating viewing. Their plans hope to avoid situations such as Wednesday’s by ensuring clubs meet threshold requirements on financial resources, liquidity, debt management, and expenditure controls.
As explained to The Star earlier this month, clubs will be required to reserve ‘appropriate resources’ to cope with major changes in circumstances, for example relegation or a withdrawal of owner funding. It will demand transparent reporting of financial accounts and could step in to ensure clubs reduce expenditure or restructure debt if it is considered a threat to its ongoing operation. It will demand fan governance.
As the red flags at Hillsborough grew into a deeper shade of rouge in the last 18 months, the conversation began as to whether they would become ‘the next Reading’, as Reading had become the next whoever else. The fact is that while Wednesday remain locked in failed ownership hell - and until a takeover is signed and sealed there’s no definite way out - red flags are sprouting up elsewhere and already conversations have begun as to who will become ‘the next Wednesday’.
It’s become a part of the football cycle and however it’s done, the sport needs a way to protect itself. The institutions that make up the pyramid are too important to allow otherwise and the EFL’s status as a member’s organisation so clearly doesn’t make for an effective watchdog or protective body.
Whether or not the IFR does so remains to be seen. Its plans will have a profound effect on the sport in this country, some of which fans may grumble at. But any Sheffield Wednesday supporter will tell you it’s a voyage worth testing.
The man campaigning to become the next Prime Minister has put on record that he believes the Independent Football Regulator is ‘the last thing English football needs’. His reasoning? The Premier League is a success.
His schtick suggests he’s looking out for the little guys. Go figure.
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