Andy Burnham once stood outside Liverpool's Old Trafford with thousands of football fans, listening to their anger. That was years ago, when he was a government minister fighting for their rights. Now Burnham is the United Kingdom's Prime Minister — and he has not forgotten where he came from.
Burnham has spent decades pushing to give football fans more power. In 2020, he co-wrote a document called "Saving Our Beautiful Game" that laid out ideas for fixing what's wrong with football. One of those ideas was an independent body to watch over the sport's money. That body — the independent football regulator — now exists, and its powers are just starting to work.
Burnham has also pushed for fans to actually own pieces of their clubs. In 2022, he created a taskforce to help supporters buy Oldham Athletic. The plan worked: local businessman Frank Rothwell bought the club, and the supporters' foundation took a 3 percent shareholding and earned a seat on the board. Fans went from watching to having a voice.
Burnham has not been afraid to challenge powerful people, either. In 2023, he argued that Everton's 10-point penalty — given for breaking financial rules — should be thrown out. Everton is his own club, but he called the punishment too harsh.
There could be big changes coming to how clubs get their money, too. An eight-week government consultation is looking at banning unlicensed casinos from sponsoring sports teams. Burnham has long criticized gambling's harmful effects, and Everton's own link to Stake.com — a crypto casino that does not have a UK licence — has drawn scrutiny.
For Burnham, football is not separate from justice. His work as an MP helped lead to the Hillsborough Law, passed last week. The law is meant to stop cover-ups when the state makes mistakes. It comes after decades of fighting for the 97 people who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
When Burnham was at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, he ordered the first review of major sports events in ten years. That review suggested making the home Ashes cricket series free to watch. The idea was shelved when Labour lost power in 2010, but Sir Keir Starmer's government has recently proposed new rules to keep streaming and catch-up rights available to all UK viewers.
Fans across the country are watching closely. Burnham built his political career listening to them. Now, with new laws and regulators in place, they are waiting to see if he delivers.