The Athletic.

Hello, I'm Mark Chapman.

Welcome to the Business of Sport podcast on The Athletic.

Matt Slater with us as usual.

And the focus of today's pod,

the independent fan-led review of football governance that last week delivered a wide-ranging

list of recommendations designed to protect the long-term sustainability of football.

Later in the pod, we'll talk to Danny Macklin, CEO of Leighton Orient, who are in League

in the English Football League,

to get his thoughts. But first up, we'll talk to Tracy Crouch MP, who oversaw and chaired the

review that has received criticism from some quarters. We'll come to the findings in a moment,

Tracy, and the criticism. But first of all, what was the process like

if putting this together? It was extremely challenging. We had six months of taking evidence and

hearing from clubs and their fan groups and across the whole of the pyramid. I was supported by a

brilliant panel of experts and I had a great team of officials working behind the scenes. But, you know, we got through it. I have to say, you know, people

like Clark Carlisle on the panel, I mean, his energy was phenomenal. I mean, his, his Zoom

stamina is now legendary amongst the sort of kind of panellists.

But, you know, it was challenging.

But it was really interesting.

You know, and there were areas of complexity that we tackled together as a team.

What was the biggest area of complexity?

Some of the nuances around financial regulation, actually. And I think that when we look at the recommendation, you know, I keep on describing it as really sexy. I mean, it's quite dry.

...