Executives at EFL clubs have been left ‘deeply unimpressed’ after it emerged the new independent football regulator is set to be a man who was the Premier League’s chief media advisor for more than 15 years.
David Kogan, once described as ‘key to the competition’s global success’ is set to be handed one of the most important roles in the game, with the regulator given the power to adjudicate between the Premier League and the EFL in their battle over financial redistribution and the controversial parachute payment system.
And the prospect of a successful candidate so closely linked to the top-flight has, to say the least, not gone down well among execs at a number of EFL clubs.
The EFL itself declined to comment but it is thought eyebrows have also been raised within the organisation.
One senior official at a Championship club, who did not wish to be named, asked: ‘How on God’s earth is this not a conflict of interest? Everyone is deeply unimpressed. Alarm bells are ringing.’
Kogan has also been a donor to Labour parliamentary candidates, has written two books on the party and appears to have seen off a number of rivals for the government-appointed role. He is also a director of LabourList, a news website which describes itself as Labour’s ‘biggest independent grassroots e-network’.
Former Premier League chief media advisor David Kogan is set to be named the new independent football regulator
Execs at EFL clubs have been left ‘deeply unimpressed’ by the expected appointment of Kogan
Kogan has also been a donor to Labour parliamentary candidates, has written two books on the party and appears to have seen off a number of rivals for the government-appointed role
The 67-year-old, who would pick up around £130,000-a-year, was the Premier League’s chief media advisor between 1998 and 2015 at a time of dramatic and lucrative growth.
A former BBC producer, he has also advised the EFL, Scottish Premier League and UEFA on TV rights contracts and has had a directorship at state-owned Channel 4, but his links to the Premier League those that are set to raise serious questions, should he be confirmed in the role.
Sky News, who first reported the story, say the appointment is due to be signed off by culture secretary Lisa Nandy in the coming days, which sources have confirmed to be the case. DCMS say the recruitment process remains ongoing.
Others in the hunt were former Aston Villa and Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow and Sanjay Bandari, head of football’s anti-racism charity Kick It Out. Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, who led the watchdog established after the MPs expenses scandal, was also in the running for the Manchester-based role.
The regulator forms a key part of the Football Governance Bill, which has now completed a stop-start passage through the House of Lords and is now heading for Commons approval.
It was born on the back of the failed European Super League breakaway and will have a ‘backstop’ power to force a redistribution deal between the Premier League and EFL should no agreement be reached.
