David Kogan, the chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), has declared that he will resign from his position if he encounters any political pressure regarding the handling of Manchester City’s case. The club is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal process following a guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial regulations over a nine-year period. Kogan, emphasizing that his “independence is absolute,” stated he has received no political interference to date but would quit immediately if that changed. Those concerns have been rebuffed by Kogan. “Our independence is absolute and my independence personally is absolute,” he said. “I [have] made it very clear … any form of political interference on the way we operate is going to result in my resigning from this role, and I stand by that completely. And, just to be crystal clear, we’ve come under absolutely no political pressure whatsoever on this or any other topic.”. “That process is reliant on us having very detailed knowledge and information, which requires a certain amount of investigation.
Concerns persist that the proximity of Manchester City’s ownership, the Abu Dhabi United Group, to the rulers of Abu Dhabi could invite political intervention by the UK government. Kogan has firmly dismissed these fears. He explained that his authority includes reviewing the fitness of club owners, directors, and senior executives. Should an owner fail a test concerning integrity, honesty, and financial soundness, the regulator holds the power to force the sale of a club. Then we would take judgments based on the legal advice that we then receive.”. Honesty and financial soundness”, the regulator could force the club to be sold. “We deal with issues of this type much more frequently than you might realise because we are constantly looking at clubs,” Kogan said, stating if any decision by the regulator became the subject of legal action then clubs would be asked to foot, should a club owner ultimately be found to have failed a “fitness” test related to “integrity.
Kogan detailed this during the launch of the State of the Game report, which highlights severe financial disparities within the English football pyramid. He noted that the highest-earning Premier League club currently generates 605 times the revenue of the lowest-earning team in the National League. Furthermore, the report revealed that 94% of the 116 clubs under the regulator’s scope posted financial losses during the 2025-26 season, with 11 Football League clubs recording costs exceeding income even after excluding player wages. Spending has increased at all levels of the game, with 94% of the 116 clubs under the regulator’s regime posting a financial loss in 2025-26, at the same time. The report found 11 Football League clubs recorded costs that exceeded their income even once player wages had been stripped out, in one particularly eye-catching statistic. Including the expansion of the club calendar, the regulation of players’ agents and the recent rise in interest rates, kogan argued that a number of external factors that fall outside the regulator’s purview are affecting the game.
To address these fiscal challenges, Kogan pointed to the importance of a new financial redistribution agreement between the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). He criticized the current system of parachute payments for creating a “distortive effect” and suggested that reallocating those funds could provide a necessary “softening effect” across all 116 clubs.
The Premier League responded positively to the report, acknowledging it captures the achievements of English football’s popular, deep-rooted pyramid. The league highlighted its recent offer of £320m per season in redistribution to the EFL, asserting that this proposal meets the objectives set out by the IFR. Meanwhile, the EFL welcomed the findings as confirmation that English football generates sufficient revenue to support the entire pyramid, and the league expressed its commitment to reaching a fair long-term settlement.
Lisa Nandy, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, described the findings as figures that have “blown the doors off the game.” She called on football authorities to act upon the evidence for the benefit of fans and the local communities that depend on their clubs as social pillars. As the regulator prepares to implement its new licensing regime later this season, Kogan reiterated that if any regulatory decisions are challenged in court, clubs will be expected to cover the costs through a designated funding levy.
