MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The U.K. government has introducing strengthened powers for a proposed soccer regulator to tackle “rogue owners and directors” and prevent a repeat attempt at a breakaway Super League.
The Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs, including strengthened tests over who can run or own them.
An updated bill was introduced to the House of Lords on Thursday with changes that will “explicitly require clubs to provide effective engagement” with supporters over changes to ticket prices or plans to relocate a stadium.
The bill is intended to ensure the financial stability of elite men's soccer in England and avoid community and cultural assets folding, as seen in recent collapses of lower league clubs Bury and Macclesfield.
The government said such cases were a result of “excessive and reckless risk-taking, with many clubs living way beyond their means.”
The bill is also designed to stop another breakaway attempt after 12 of Europe’s elite clubs — including six from the Premier League — tried to set up a Super League in 2021, which quickly unraveled in the face of a fan backlash.
The government said it was a “critical juncture for English football.”
“English football is one of our greatest exports and a source of national pride which this government wants to see thrive for generations to come," culture secretary Lisa Nandy said. “But for too long, financial instability has meant loyal fans and whole communities have risked losing their cherished clubs as a result of mismanagement and reckless spending."
As part of changes to an original bill put forward by the previous Conservative government, the independent regulator’s remit will include so-called “parachute payments” provided by the Premier League to help relegated teams.
In response, the league said it was concerned about some of the powers given to the regulator.
“The Premier League recognises that key elements of the bill can help make the English game stronger,” it said in a statement. “However, we remain concerned about the regulatory framework. Specifically, we believe rigid banking-style regulation, and the regulator’s unprecedented and untested powers to intervene in the distribution of the Premier League’s revenues, could have a negative impact on the league’s continued competitiveness, clubs’ investment in world-class talent and, above all, the aspiration that drives our global appeal and growth.”
Another change means the regulator will no longer have to consider government foreign and trade policy when approving club takeovers.
The government said there would also be a “clear commitment” to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the sport.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Balls sit on the pitch before an English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Brentford at London Stadium in London, on Oct. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
PARIS (AP) — France's foreign minister said Paris' international conference for Lebanon raised $1 billion in pledges for humanitarian aid and military support.
Jean-Noël Barrot said: “We have collectively raised $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million for the security forces, that’s about $1 billion,” in his closing speech at the conference, which gathered over 70 nations and international organizations.
“We’re up to the challenge,” Barrot said.
French President Emmanuel Macron had called on participants to bring “massive aid” to support the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500, and deepened an economic crisis.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PARIS (AP) — France pledged to provide a 100-million euro ($108-million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500, and deepened an economic crisis.
French organizers hope the Paris conference, which gathered over 70 nations and international organizations, will raise enough money to provide the $426 million in humanitarian aid the United Nations says is urgently needed.
“In the immediate term, massive aid is needed for the Lebanese population, both for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war and for the communities hosting them,” Macron said in his opening speech at the conference.
Germany pledged a total of 96 million euros in humanitarian aid to both Lebanon and neighboring Syria, also deeply affected by escalating violence in the Middle East. Italy this week announced an additional 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in aid for Lebanon.
But experts warn that delivering aid could be challenging as Lebanon’s growing dependence on the informal and cash economy increases lack of transparency and corruption risks.
The Paris conference also aims at coordinating international support to strengthen Lebanon’s armed forces so they can deploy in the country’s south as part of a potential deal to end the war. Such a deal could see Hezbollah withdraw its forces from the border.
This support to the Lebanese military includes “helping with health care, fuel, small equipment, but also supporting the plan to recruit at least 6,000 additional soldiers and to enable the deployment of at least 8,000 additional soldiers in the south,” Macron said.
In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike killed three Lebanese soldiers, including an officer, as they were evacuating wounded people in southern Lebanon. The army said Israeli forces have targeted it on eight occasions since all-out war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in September.
The Israeli army apologized for a strike on Sunday that it said mistakenly killed three soldiers, and on Wednesday said it was looking into whether “a number of soldiers of the Lebanese army were accidentally harmed” after it targeted what it says was Hezbollah infrastructure.
Paris also seeks to help restore Lebanon's sovereignty and strengthen its institutions. The country, where Hezbollah effectively operates as a state within a state, has been without a president for two years while political factions fail to agree on a new one.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in a pre-recorded video, called on Lebanon’s leaders “to take decisive action to ensure the proper functioning of state institutions in order to meet the country’s urgent political and security challenges.”
Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the international community to take action.
“The devastating impact of this war on our nation cannot be overstated, and it has left a trail of destruction and misery in its wake. The Israeli’s aggression has not only caused immense human suffering and loss of lives, but also inflicted severe damage to the country’s infrastructure, economy and social fabric," Mikati said Thursday in Paris.
Israel in the past month has launched a major aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon as it targets Hezbollah, with strikes hitting the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere.
The International Organization for Migration has said about 800,000 people are displaced, with many now in overcrowded shelters, while others have fled across the border into Syria. Mikati on Thursday estimated the number of displaced people is over 1.4 million, including 500,000 children.
The cash-strapped Lebanese government is ill-prepared to deal with the crisis or the increased demands on its health system. A number of hospitals have been evacuated because of nearby airstrikes and fears that they might be targeted.
Lebanon's army has been hit hard by five years of economic crisis. It has an aging arsenal and no air defenses, leaving it in no position to defend against Israeli incursions or confront Hezbollah.
The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. Hezbollah has more than 100,000 fighters, according to the militant group’s late leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The militant group's arsenal, built with support from Iran, is more advanced.
Conference participants also are to discuss how to support the 10,500-soldier-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL. European nations including France, Italy and Spain provide a third of its troops.
Italy, which has over 1,000 troops in UNIFIL, is pushing for the peacekeeping force to be strengthened to “be able to face the new situation” on the ground, an Italian diplomat said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing talks.
Guterres said Thursday that “attacks on U.N. peacekeepers are totally unacceptable and are contrary to international law, contrary to international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime.”
France’s historic links with Lebanon, a former colony, and its influential diplomacy give Paris momentum to coordinate “a proper response to the massive challenge that the war in Lebanon now poses,” said Middle East expert Rym Montaz, editor in chief of Carnegie Europe’s blog Strategic Europe.
“What we do know is that without a strengthened Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL, there can be no sustainable peace and stability at the border between Lebanon and Israel,” Montaz said. “As such, the French efforts are important and crucial for the way forward.”
AP writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Germany and Abby Sewell in Beirut, Lebanon, contributed.
France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot during international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron and to Lebanon's Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, attend an international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron listens to Lebanon's Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, during international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
Lebanon's Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends an international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron listens to Lebanon's Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, during international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron hugs Lebanon's Prime Minister caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, during international conference for Lebanon in Paris, Thursday, Oct.24, 2024. (Alain Jocard, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, left, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
