Kieran Maguire: Sunderland ready to cash in after MPs wined and dined
Sunderland will be delighted if EFL chief Rick Parry succeeds in his mission to sell the idea of independent regulation to influential politicians.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about how the Black Cats would benefit from a rethink about how wealth is distributed among the English football pyramid.
An independent regulator with the power to install new financial controls and safeguard the interests of fans was one of a number of historic proposals in Tracey Crouch MP’s Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in November last year.
The contents of the review were backed by Boris Johnson’s government, but its future is less certain under the premiership of Liz Truss.
The Daily Mail reported last Saturday (2 September) that EFL chairman Rick Parry hosted a dinner for MPs at the recent Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, with the fate of the independent regulator likely high on the agenda.
Maguire explained why the likes of Sunderland would be better off under the proposed body.
“The EFL were late to the party in terms of being in favour of an independent regulator,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“I think this will be one of the things they were prepared to give away in return for a more democratic distribution of the riches that are generated by the football industry and which are concentrated in the Premier League.
“If that does come to fruition and the regulator adopts a more beneficial redistribution of wealth, clubs such as Sunderland will be grateful for that.
“That is when they are in the Championship, at least. Sometimes clubs change their tune when they get to the Premier League.
“We await with interest. The Government does appear to be ideologically opposed to redistribution. Therefore, they may feel that the present status quo is in the best interests of the game in the long term.”
In other news, finance guru claims Sunderland fans “exploited” as top executives “dance with the devil”.