‘Change is coming’ – Lisa Nandy sends a message to the owners at crisis clubs Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday.
The Culture Secretary believes struggling football clubs like Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe can be saved from collapse, speaking of the importance of fans and the need for responsible club ownership.
The new independent football regulator, established by a recent law but not yet operational, will have powers which will oversee clubs in England’s top five divisions, including forcing owners to sell if necessary.
Morecambe faces issues like delayed wages and a National League suspension, while Sheffield Wednesday is under a transfer embargo with significant financial losses.
She wrote an open letter to Jason Whittingham, addressing deep concerns over the future of the club but has confirmed she hasn’t receive a reply.
Nandy pointed to that the near-collapse of her club, Wigan Athletic, as evidence that resolutions are possible.
The regulator aims to prevent repeats of Bury’s 2019 expulsion by enforcing stronger ownership tests and empowering fans, but the delay in its launch leaves clubs at risk.
‘It allows the regulator to look retrospectively at whether somebody is fit and proper to own a club’
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told #BBCBreakfast the new football regulator will have the power to ‘force the sale’ of troubled clubs such as Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday… pic.twitter.com/dtQV9d8p8N
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) August 6, 2025
‘Do not give up’
On #BBCBreakfast Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy had this message for supporters of Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe – at the start of the new football seasonhttps://t.co/SK0NhoICev pic.twitter.com/iRPORwofOO
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) August 6, 2025
She said: “There were many, many owners who were passing an owners and directors test who were not fit to own the club.
“In Wigan, we had an owner who was approved by the EFL. They had no choice but to do so because he met the standard that was currently set out, but then put the club straight into administration that very same day.
“So there are many, many examples of this happening. And that’s why the legislation that we’ve just passed through Parliament sets out a strengthened owners and directors test.
“In addition, it allows the regulator to look retrospectively at whether somebody is fit and proper to own a club.
“And it does also allow the regulator in very extreme cases where the club would otherwise be lost. And I think Morecambe does look like one of these cases.
“It would allow the regulator to be able to force the owners to sell rather than the club collapsing.
“So I know there’s been a lot of debate around this and a lot of people have lot of opinions, but the truth is that without the legislation that we’ve just passed, we’re going to keep seeing this happen and we as a government are not prepared to stand for that.”
She added: “These clubs belong to their fans. They are nothing without their fans and we are on their side and we will always fight for them.
“Nobody should have to go through this. When Bury collapsed, we were absolutely clear that that had to be the last time that ever happened to anyone again. It’s happened to far too many people since.
“Owners need to recognise that they have a responsibility to be the custodians of a club and hand it on in good shape to the next generation.
“They’re hugely important to the economic life of a town, which I know from my own experience.
“Wigan went right to the wire, we were within hours of HMRC pulling the plug because taxes haven’t been paid, players were about to walk, the wages haven’t been paid and at the final hour we managed to achieve a resolution.
“So I’ve absolutely said that to the fans groups and to the local MPs do not give up.
Nandy told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In the case of Morecambe [the regulator] would definitely make a difference.
“There are powers for the regulator to be able to force the owners to sell in circumstances where it would otherwise be lost.
“In the case of Sheffield Wednesday, which I know many, many people are concerned about, there are some measures in the bill that will make a big difference. Legislation, for example, gives fans much greater power over the direction of their own club.
“I don’t want to sugar-coat this, people have been through it.
“Bury is an example of this where they lost everything because of poor ownership. And it proves why there is such a need for the legislation that we’ve just passed.
“We are working at pace to set up the regulator and I can promise Sheffield Wednesday fans and every other football fan in the country, this is personal for me and we’re going to make sure this happens.
“My message to the owners at Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday is that the legislation has passed parliament, it is being enacted [and] change is coming.
“But while we set up the football regulator, and we are working at pace to do so, they need to recognise that they have a responsibility to be the custodians of a club and hand it on in good shape to the next generation.
“And that’s why I wrote the open letter to Morecambe and have been working closely with local MPs in Sheffield and Morecambe to support fans and to bring about a resolution to what has become a crisis at both clubs.
“The legislation sets out a strengthened owners and directors test. In addition it allows the regulator to look retrospectively at whether somebody is fit and proper to own a club, and it does also allow the regulator in very extreme cases where the club would otherwise be lost, and Morecambe looks like one of these cases, it would allow the regulator to force the owners to sell rather than the club collapsing.”
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