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A Labour MP has called for the government to allow fans to drink on terraces and cap away ticket prices at £30 as part of its plans to reform football.
Luke Charters, Labour MP for York Outer, also wants to see the number of teams promoted from the National League to the Football League every season increased from two to three.
The MP said it was an opportunity for ministers to do something “bold that millions across our country will not just look forward to, but remember for generations to come”.
“Football fans have been treated as an afterthought for too long — and it’s this Labour government who are showing the leadership to put the game back in the hands of working people, who ultimately created it — and frankly pay for it week in, week out,” he told PoliticsHome.
“This is all about improving the matchday experience for fans, strengthening our football pyramid, and making the pockets of working people stretch that little bit further — all with fans at the heart of these changes.”
The Football Governance Bill has completed its journey through the House of Lords and arrived in the House of Commons for its Second Reading on Monday.
The legislation will create an independent football regulator which will be responsible for overseeing the top five leagues of English football.
Charters said supporters of clubs should be allowed to drink alcohol in certain areas of the stadium. As things stand, fans at games in the top five tiers of football have to drink alcohol away from the pitch.
When Labour was in opposition, the then-shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire told The House magazine that “at the very least, I owe it to football clubs to look at whether or not there is scope for changing that rule.”
Charters, who was elected at the July general election, also wants to see ticket prices capped at £30. Away tickets are capped at this figure within England’s highest league, the Premier League, but the Labour MP said it should be extended to divisions below in the Football League and National League.
Thirdly, he has called for the National League to be reformed so that the number of clubs who are promoted to the Football League every season is increased to three.
The National League is the only step of the top five tiers of English football that doesn’t currently have at least three promotion spaces. All 24 National League clubs in February called for this to be implemented.
