RPC’s Independent Football Regulator Guide
Welcome to RPC’s interactive guide on the Independent Football Regulator (IFR). Find digestible content to help you keep up to speed with developments relating to the IFR and the implementation and impact of the Football Governance Act 2025.
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Last Updated: February 2026
RPC's Independent Football Regulator Guide
Welcome to RPC’s interactive guide on the Independent Football Regulator (IFR). Find – digestible content to help you keep up to speed with developments relating to the IFR and the implementation and impact of the Football Governance Act 2025.
On this page:
Navigate to:
Last Updated: February 2026
Introduction
This guide is intended to allow you to easily navigate our overview of how the IFR is progressing, the impact of the Football Governance Act 2025, and why and how this legislative change will shape the way that English football will be regulated in the future.
There is a high-level background “how did we get here?” followed by snappy need-to-know summaries, insights, and practical tips for navigating the still-evolving landscape. Our award-winning football regulatory experts have it covered in this guide which will be refreshed regularly.
A seismic shift in English football’s regulatory landscape”
Joshua Charalambous, Sport Industry Report 2026, presented by EY and Nielsen for Sport Industry Group
How can RPC help you?
RPC provides a one-stop, full-service solution to football. The team has extensive football-specific expertise in contentious and non-contentious matters involving football regulatory, governance, disciplinary, and safeguarding matters, football club M&A and investments (buy/sell side across the men’s and women’s professional game in the UK and internationally), competition law advisory and disputes, sponsorship, media rights and IP licensing/merchandising matters, employment, contentious tax (agents’ fees, image rights) and more.
We offer a unique combination of specialist and standalone Tier 1-ranked practices across commercial contracts, corporate M&A, and media and entertainment, as well as being the winners of Chambers & Partners’ Disputes Team Of The Year 2025, and Legal/Professional Team Of The Year at both the Global Football Industry Awards 2025 and Women’s Football Awards 2025.
Our IFR experts and expert contributors
Many thanks to our team of IFR experts at RPC for their contributions to the RPC IFR Guide.
Special thanks go to Charlie Osborne, Josh Ovens, Kristen Smith and Elizabeth Terry.
Disclaimer
The information in this publication is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We attempt to ensure that the content is current as of the date of publication but we do not guarantee that it remains up to date. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.