The chairman of Kick It Out, the football anti-racism charity, has been shortlisted to become the first head of Britain’s proposed new Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
Sky News has learnt that Sanjay Bhandari is among three remaining candidates being considered by the government to chair the watchdog.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks, and the identities of the other two contenders for the high-profile post were unclear on Friday.
Mr Bhandari has chaired Kick It Out’s board of trustees since 2019, having been a partner at the professional services firm EY for more than a decade.
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He is also an independent non-executive director of the Lawn Tennis Association, and chairs the Satellite Applications Catapult, which aims to aid innovation in the UK space industry.
In 2024, he was awarded an MBE for services to sport.
Mr Bhandari’s chances of landing the chairmanship of the IFR are unclear, although one source described his credentials as “strong”.
The establishment of the regulator, which was originally conceived by the previous Conservative government in the wake of the furore over the failed European Super League project, has triggered deep unrest in the sport.
This week, Steve Parish, the influential chairman of Premier League side Crystal Palace, told a sports industry conference organised by the Financial Times that the watchdog “wants to interfere in all of the things we don’t need them to interfere in and help with none of the things we actually need help with”.
“We have a problem that we’re constantly being told that we’re not a business and [that] we’re part of the fabric of communities,” he is reported to have said.
“At the same time, we’re…being treated to the nth degree like a business.”
Interviews for the chair of the football regulator took place in November, and Mr Bhandari’s is believed to be the first of the three shortlisted names to be publicly disclosed.
The post was advertised with a £130,000-a-year salary, and will be based at the IFR’s new home in Manchester.
It is the second time a recruitment process has been run for a chair for the IFR, after an earlier hunt was curtailed by the general election.
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, will sign off on the appointment of a preferred candidate, with the chosen individual expected to face a pre-appointment hearing in front of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee.
The Football Governance Bill is proceeding through parliament, with its next stage expected in March.
It forms part of a process that represents the most fundamental shake-up in the oversight of English football in the game’s history.
The establishment of the body comes with the top tier of the professional game wracked by civil war, with Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City at the centre of a number of legal cases over its financial dealings.
The government has dropped a previous stipulation that the regulator should have regard to British foreign and trade policy when determining the appropriateness of a new club owner.
The IFR will monitor clubs’ adherence to rules requiring them to listen to fans’ views on issues including ticket pricing, while it may also have oversight of the parachute payments made to clubs in the years after their relegation from the Premier League.
The top flight has issued a statement expressing reservations about the regulator’s remit, while the IFR has been broadly welcomed by the English Football League.
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation.
“No appointment has been made and the recruitment process for [IFR] chair is ongoing.”
Mr Bhandari could not be reached for comment.
