The Premier League has gifted MPs tickets and hospitality – including to the Brit Awards, cricket matches and cup finals – worth tens of thousands of pounds in the past year with the threat of an independent regulator looming.
Ahead of a vote on the bill that will mark one of the biggest changes in English football history, the Premier League ramped up donations, spending more than £5,000 per month in 2024.
The value of gifts this year has already surpassed that of the entirety of 2023 – £15,200 spent between January and March, compared to £11,180.15 last year, according to analysis of data by i.
There is no suggestion that any of the MPs named have had their position towards the bill influenced by the gifting of tickets.
However, the figures raise questions over the extent to which the league is trying to charm key figures in Westminster in a bid to avoid its powers being significantly weakened by the game’s first watchdog.
The donations included giving Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, five tickets and hospitality to Arsenal’s Champions League game against Porto at the Emirates Stadium valued at £3,000, according to official figures seen by i.
Starmer has said he would protect the interests of the Premier League, telling Sky News: “I think they’ve got their concerns and we’re listening to what they have to say. [The bill] supports the lower league clubs to give them the financial sustainability that we need. But we must also protect the Premier League. We’ve got the best football in the world in this country, and I want to make sure that’s fully protected.”
In March, three Labour MPs were given tickets to the Brit Awards that included hospitality, totalling more than £7,000.
Pat McFadden, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East, received two tickets plus hospitality for the ceremony, held at The O2 Arena in London, valued at £3,000. Dr Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, received one ticket plus hospitality worth £1,250 for the event, which featured performances from Dua Lipa and Kylie Minogue.
Liz Kendall, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, was gifted two tickets plus hospitality valued at £1,500. And Peter Kyle, Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, was given a ticket and hospitality worth £1,500.
Tickets and hospitality expenses worth more than £4,000 were also paid for by the Premier League for MPs to attend the EFL Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley in February.
Damian Collins, Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe, received two tickets plus hospitality. The donation was worth £2,200. The package for Dr Therese Coffey, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal, was valued at £1,100.
Coffey told i: “I was a late substitute for another MP who dropped out and I am a big Liverpool fan. It was the MP’s office rather than the Premier League who invited me really. However, I attended Wembley again with the Premier League for an England game, again subbing for another person. This time I was invited on the day.
“Like most fans would do, I snapped up the chance to see my team. I was delighted to see Liverpool win. I know the Premier League well from my time on the committee and when I was a trustee of their Community Foundation work.”
Justin Tomlinson, Conservative MP for North Swindon, was also given a package valued at £1,100.
Additionally this year, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Conservative MP for Bassetlaw, went to England’s game against Belgium thanks to the Premier League in a donation valued at £550.
Last year, MPs were handed tickets and hospitality packages to cricket matches and several Premier League games.
Suella Braverman, who at the time was Home Secretary, received two tickets plus hospitality last summer to watch the Ashes at the Oval, valued at £1,798. Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, was also gifted a ticket and package for the Ashes worth £899.
Hundreds of pounds were given to MPs to cover drinks, food and tickets at football matches at Anfield, Liverpool’s stadium, Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park, the Emirates Stadium, Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and for others that were not specified.
The most expensive was gifted to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in September, for two tickets and hospitality at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea vs Aston Villa. It was valued at £1,342.10.
Collins and Clarke-Smith pointed out that they spoke in favour of the Football Governance Bill when it was debated in the House of Commons earlier this month.
Starmer, Dr Huq, Kendall, McFadden, Kyle, Coutinho, Braverman and Gove declined to comment. Tomlinson did not respond to a request for comment.
Premier League sources insisted that many football stakeholders, including the Football Association and the English Football League, meet with MPs to discuss a range of issues, including gambling and policing.
There have also been a significant number of ministerial changes requiring Premier League officials to meet with new incumbents. Meetings regarding the football regulator have centred around stating the Premier League’s position and how the regulator will relate to and impact football, sources said.
A Premier League spokesperson told i: “The Premier League runs a programme of stakeholder engagement with a broad range of individuals including MPs and officials. Like all industries, including many football organisations, this is normal practice and used as an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics and issues that affect both our areas of work.”
The independent regulator is set to have power over financial regulations, club ownership, fan engagement and protecting club heritage. The body’s exact remit is still to be finalised.
The Football Governance Bill passed to the next stage this month, with many MPs calling for it to be given greater powers. A formal vote has not been held.
During the debate, Dr Huq delivered a lengthy speech calling for the independent regulator to be granted powers to stop smaller clubs going out of existence and for equality and diversity to be a key part of the organisation. She revealed that the Premier League was “in here late last night wining and dining people”. None of the MPs named in this story spoke against the Bill in the Commons on Tuesday.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, appearing at a hearing about football governance in January, had said it was “pointless” to lobby MPs on the Football Governance Bill.
But since then MP Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, wrote to Masters accusing him of doing so after the Premier League took out an advert in Politico’s London Playbook – a newsletter that is sent to influential political insiders and lawmakers. Masters also wrote an op-ed in The Times warning against a regulator.
Masters called for MPs and peers “to protect the game” and insisted “it is a risk to bring politics and lobbying into football”.
Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, added on social media that “despite assurances from Richard Masters, [the Premier League] seem to have embarked on a lobbying campaign against the Football Governance Bill” and claiming that meetings had taken place around parliament.
The Premier League was criticised by popular pundit Gary Neville for the Politico advert, which stated: “The Premier League is the world’s most-watched competition, the Championship is Europe’s sixth wealthiest league and we have the best-attended and deepest pyramid in world football. Yet the UK will soon become the first major country to regulate football. We must guard against unintended consequences that would put English football’s success at risk.”
Neville shared a picture of the advert on his Instagram account and posted: “The Premier League stooping to a new low putting paid ads out attacking the new regulator for football! How to embarrass yourselves and look small!”
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