Back of the net

After four months of deliberation, the football governance bill has been passed by the House of Lords and now returns to the Commons for further debate.

It has been a time in which many argued the bill went too far or touched on topics (for example, DEI) that were best left alone.

Baroness Twycross, the government’s minister in the Lords in charge of the bill, sent it back to Commons, saying it took a “proportionate and flexible approach” to provide “certainty and sustainability” to make English football a “global success”.

She couldn’t help nodding to the Lords’ own contribution to the bill. “Our addition to the definition of corporate governance for football clubs to include a club’s contribution to the economic and social well-being of its local community will help to shine a light on the good work clubs do for their local areas.”

Her four-month abstinence from beautiful game-related puns finally broke down, with Twycross noting the Lords was “reaching full time” for its attention on the bill.

“I hope to get through this debate without any own goals or penalty shoot-outs,” she said. The whistle blew and the bill returns to its home venue for a second half.

What will Delaware?

Delaware, the state widely known as the home of corporate America, has this week passed a bill easing corporate governance requirements, in a bid to head off an exodus of companies unhappy with recent rulings.

The bill limits the ability of shareholders to launch lawsuits against companies and the directors. It was a shareholder lawsuit that saw a Delaware judge twice rule against Elon Musk’s $56bn Tesla pay cheque.

Tesla has appealed and Delaware courts are yet to issue a final ruling, but Musk has already moved the company’s registration out of the state, as have a number of other corporates.

There were objections to the Delaware reform. Giant pension fund CalPERS wrote a letter to legislators saying, “The legislation would cause a much deeper harm to the brand of Delaware corporate law.”

Harvard Law School professor Lucian Bebchuk recently wrote that “adoption would have considerable detrimental effects on public company shareholders”.

The reforms await sign off by state governor Matt Meyer. And then we’ll see whether a new era of US corporate governance has begun.

Greatly exaggerated

Wait a moment, naysayers! Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the former UN body, says investors are continuing to get involved in… responsible investment.

PRI says last year saw 3,048 signatories to the organisation—both asset owners and investment managers—report on their activities, countering the idea that there has been mass movement away from investing with a conscience.

David Atkin, PRI’s CEO says the shift away from responsible investment, much talked about the business press is “overstated”.

“The global sector fundamentally understands that core responsible investment principles help them make smart investment decisions and are good for their businesses.

“What we are seeing is that signatories are going back to basics, assessing their work and evolving it in line with the world around them.”

So, not the major reversal many have touted. Responsible investment is still on investment agendas.