Adam Crockett
Adam Crockett is a sport regulation and public policy adviser and former Deputy Director (Head of Football Regulation Policy) at the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a chief architect of the Independent Football Regulator.
2
APPEARANCES
2
PODCASTS
Sep 21, 2026
Jonathan BrownHOST
Can you talk us through firstly your involvement and how we got from the fan led review that I just mentioned there to where we are today?
Adam CrockettGUEST
I think I might take one step back even further just so people can understand my role on this.
Adam CrockettGUEST
So 2021, I'm sat happily as a civil servant in the business department working on competition policy, thinking about big tech and how do we deal with the tech monopolies.
Adam CrockettGUEST
And the Super League kicked off and I was watching the Manchester United game and the Ferrari that came off the back of that.
Adam CrockettGUEST
Coming to work on the Monday and Boris Johnson has said we're going to drop a legislative bomb.
Jonathan BrownHOST
But could you talk us through what's fundamentally different about the IFR and the regulatory regime that clubs are currently under compared to what it will be like under the IFR?
Kevin DayHOST
And I certainly had help from Kieran on the next one, which is about how licensing basically will affect or work with this squad cost and salary cost rules.
Adam CrockettGUEST
I've been writing some sub stacks, which Adam Crockett won if people are interested, just on these sorts of issues.
Adam CrockettGUEST
I think what the IFR is doing and how it is regulating is very different to how football does it.
Adam CrockettGUEST
So if you think about the types of stories you've spent a lot of time on since you started your podcast, it's the likes of Derby, it's the likes of Reading, it's Sheffield Wednesday where an owner comes in, spends a lot of money.
11 MINS LATER
Kevin DayHOST
But in terms of standing up to the bigger clubs and their behaviour, that the IFR perhaps won't have the legislative power background behind it to stop them behaving? How does the IFR, for example, stop a Super League?