Professional Football (Regulation)

If the hon. Gentleman will excuse me, other hon. Members want to speak and I want to say just a couple more things. Another positive step forward is the divisional pay clause in players' contracts, which states what each player will earn regardless of relegation or promotion. As the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Pelling) said, league two clubs have the obligation that only 60 per cent. of football revenue can be paid in wages. That is a sensible way forward. My worry is that the game cannot remain split into the haves and have-nots. The community game mentioned by the hon. Member for Manchester, Central—it is very much a passion for him—has existed for the past 100 years, but is in great danger of drifting irreversibly towards a franchise structure that is more akin to that in American football, where only a small number of franchise clubs in just 10 or 12 of the biggest cities can play a part. We have already seen the first step in that direction, with the birth of the Milton Keynes Dons in 2004, which saw a south London club, Wimbledon, bought, relocated—notionally, at least—from south-west London to Buckinghamshire and given a new identity. This is a timely and important debate. I hope that Members will gather that I have a lot of passion for football, as many other Members do, and I look forward to hearing their contributions.