FAIR GAME
INDEX 2025

IN THE most comprehensive survey of men’s professional football in England, Fair Game have scored every football club in the Premier League, the EFL, the National League, the National League North and the National League South, across eight criteria:

  • Financial Sustainability;

  • Governance;

  • Transparency;

  • Fan Engagement;

  • Ethics;

  • Diversity;

  • Environment; and

  • Community Engagement.

Each of the criteria covered a range of different issues and were developed following extensive research and numerous conversations with the then Shadow Regulator to provide a best approximation of the standards required for football clubs in a new regulatory regime.

It took Fair Game’s team of 15 researchers four months to gather all the data accumulating a total of 22,000 datapoints.

In short, the Fair Game Index is the most comprehensive analysis of English men’s professional football and provides the best insight into how regulatory ready our national game is.

Fair Game believes to change football’s culture this ranking should be used to reward well-run clubs - simply put the higher they score the higher the share of football’s TV revenue they get.

Clubs have an option to pay for individualised reports. To view the options click here.

Key findings

  • Just five of the 164 clubs assessed across English football’s top seven divisions and only four in the regulated divisions are classed as ‘regulator ready’.

  • The four are: Brighton & Hove Albion, Cambridge United, Carlisle United, AFC Wimbledon. The fifth is National League side Bath City.

  • Only one in six clubs received any kind of award, whether that be Gold, Silver or Bronze. 

  • Fair Game clubs account for 11 of the 12 Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards outside the top two divisions. 

  • No Championship clubs received a Gold award and only one League One club reached that level. This reflects the financial cliff edges between the Premier League and the Championship, and the Championship and League One, with many clubs continuing to take more risks to reach a higher level and a larger payday. 

  • Overall, the 92 clubs in English football’s top four divisions are taking big financial risks, with nearly half of them (43) having less than one month’s cash reserve to cover their operating costs. 

  • There is a substantial drop off between League Two and the National League, reflecting their different regulatory regimes. Clubs in this division are likely to face a difficult adjustment to the regime established by the IFR and will need support to make that transition.            

  • The scores on governance suggest greatest attention is needed on Board Independence and Transparency, with no division hitting much above 50 in this area.    

  • Fan engagement scores suggest that the Regulator has some existing foundations to build on to set minimum standards, but progress in establishing mechanisms for dialogue needs to be matched by clubs sharing information with fans in a way that will build trust.         

  • Transparency ratings are substantially weaker in all divisions for governance than for finance.       

  • Scores for club value areas (Ethics, Environment, Diversity and Community Engagement) tend to be weaker in most divisions than the core areas, particularly for the first two categories. These areas are currently less regulated, which suggests that significant support, information and guidance will be needed to achieve progress. It also shows that clear regulation and expectations tends to inspire organisations to act.  

  • Even amongst the largest clubs, there is little evidence of a strategic approach to environmental issues. For example, only eight Premier League clubs have targets and roadmaps for both Scope 1 and 2 and Scope 3 carbon emissions.

  • On ethics, exactly half (82) of the 164 clubs receive sponsorship from either gambling or alcohol-related companies. In the Premier League, 19 of the clubs take sponsorship money from both sources. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How did you score clubs?

The data is split in to eight areas and has been weighted to give each club an overall score. Our analysis also distinguished between the Core areas - Finance, Governance, Fan Engagement and Transparency - where the IFR’s initial focus is likely to be and those relating to Club Values - Ethics, Diversity, Environment and Community Engagement.               

Only clubs that scored above average on the four core areas qualified to achieve gold status.

The data on clubs throughout the seven top divisions in English football - from the Premier League to National Leagues North and South- were scored and weighted on a consistent basis. There were a small number of exceptions, the most important being the financial measures in the National League divisions, which due to more limited recorded accounts are based on the narrower range of data. In addition, clubs below the legal threshold for mandatory reporting of Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions were scored higher for taking action.

The indicators for actions and reporting were generally weighted higher than those for strategy.

The results are presented on a divisional basis and are based on where the clubs were in the 2024/25 season.

How did you choose the datapoints?

Fair Game is built on an ethos of constant improvement, and this year’s datapoints - 22,000 in total - were build on feedback and analysis from the 2024 Index, coupled with new research and extensive conversations with clubs and, crucially, the Shadow Regulator.

The eight criteria, in particular, mirror the work of the Regulator. The datapoints within each of the eight were then developed with expert input and fresh research, notably work on fan engagement, ethics, environment, governance, and finance.

This has created the most comprehensive analysis of English men’s professional football and gives the best insight in to how prepared our clubs are to adjust to a new regulatory regime.

Where did the data come from?

All the data was collected from publicly available sources, mainly club websites and annual accounts. It was collated by a team of 15 researchers from April to July this year. While we tried to ensure all the data is as up-to-date as possible, it is worth noting that the financial data was taken from clubs’ latest financial  accounts and therefore relate to the latest period available - the 2023/24 season.  

The data on clubs throughout the seven top divisions in English football - from the Premier League to National Leagues North and South- were scored and weighted on a consistent basis. There were a small number of exceptions, the most important being the financial measures in the National Leagues, which are based on the narrower range of data, available in their generally more limited accounts. In addition, clubs below the legal threshold for mandatory reporting of Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions were scored higher for taking action.                    

The indicators for actions and reporting were generally weighted higher than those for strategy. The results are reported by division, based on where the clubs were in the 2024/25 season. 

How could the Index help change the financial flow in football?

Football has operated in a gambling culture for decades, with owners encouraged to overspend caught by the Siren Call of the Premier League. It is a game of Russian Roulette with the history and traditions of clubs at stake.

Fair Game believe football should reward well-run clubs, and incentivise clubs to change. Football’s financial flow should be based on those that score well on financial measures, good governance, equality standards and fan and community engagement. Only then will the underlying gambling culture be addressed. The power to do so not lies in the hands of the Regulator. We encourage them to grasp it.