LONDON, May 19 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

This included £1.9 millionwhich wastransferredfrom the charity'sbankaccountto a trade union, The Professional Footballers' Association,without adequateexplanation or governance.

Additionally, thecharity allowed theunion tooccupyits propertiesrent free, some for over a decade, resulting insignificantfinancial lossto the charity.

Both the £1.9 million, plus interest,and the outstanding rent plus interest(£627,000) weresubsequentlyrepaidto the charityduring the inquiry once the Commission had raised concerns.

The Chief Executive and Director of Finance at the connected union were also trustees of the charity. The Commission's intervention ensured that theirremunerationwas transparentlydisclosedin the charity's accounts as related party transactions, which was not previously the case.

As a result of these and other findings relating to the charity's relationship with the trade union, the regulatorissued an Official Warning to the charity on 7 September 2022 for mismanagement that had taken place from its incorporation in 2013 to the beginning of 2019.

Italsodisqualifiedatrustee, Darren Wilson, frombeing a trustee or holding a position in a charity with a senior management functionfor fouryears.

The charityand the union are now more clearly separate.

Background

The charity, which was formerly known as The Professional Footballers' Association Charity, supports current and former professionalfootballers.

In November 2018, the Commission opened a regulatory compliance case to explore concerns about the charity's relationship with aconnectedtrade union, The ProfessionalFootballers' Association,its management of conflicts of interest and the trustees' ability to act in the charity's best interests.

Funding a trade union is not considered a charitable purpose in law.

Followingextensive engagementwith the charity, the Commission's serious concerns led to the opening of a statutory inquiry inDecember 2019.

Key findings

The inquiry uncovered a pattern of poor oversight and financial mismanagement that put charitable funds at risk over several years.It found that:

* Through a longstanding but informal arrangement, the charity paid approximately 80% of thetradeunion's annual operating costs -around £6 million annually, including £5 million on union staff salaries. In return, the union provided coaching and training to further the charity's aims. This arrangementoperatedfor years without any contractual agreement, proper review, or value-for-money assessment until the Commission raised concerns in April 2019. * £1.9millionof funds theFootball Associationdeposited in the charity's bank accountwastransferred from the charity to the union in two separate transactions, without a clear explanation for the action. In the report, the Commission ishighly criticalof trustees' failure to spot the huge reduction infundsduring their reviews. The fundsplus interestwere only returned after the Commission raised concerns.Subsequently, an alternative explanation was provided by trustees, who suggested that thefunds belonged to the union but were held by the charity pending confirmation of their donation to the charity by the union.The inquiry found that the changing explanation providedregardingthe £1.9 milliondemonstratedpoorfinancial managementand controls at the charity. * The charity owned several properties in Manchester and London and allowed the union and its trading subsidiary to occupy theserent-free for several years. When interest was included, this cost the charity over £627,000 in unpaidrent, which wassubsequentlyrepaid aftertheCharity Commission'sintervention. * Multiple trustees held positions within both the charity and thetradeunion -two trustees held senior unionsalariedpositions,whilst three others sat on the union's Business Advisory Committee, which set salaries for union staff.This created inherent conflicts of interest, particularly as the charity funded union salaries to the sum of £5 million annually. * The charity alsofailed toproperlydiscloserelated partytransactionsin its published accounts, reducing transparency for the public and regulators.Whilst trustees placed reliance on professional advisors, theyfailed tofulfil their fundamental duty to actively oversee and review the charity's operations and relationships.

Regulatory action

As a result of the inquiry's findings, the Commission has taken the following action:

* One trustee, Darren Wilson, has been disqualified from being a trustee or holding a senior management position in any charity for four years after the Commission found him responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. At the time of his trusteeship, he was also Director of Finance of the union.The inquiry found he had a greater culpability than the other trustees, due to his role as a qualified director offinance.The Commissiontook action to suspendMr Wilson as a trustee until any disqualification tookeffect. Mr Wilson appealed against his suspension and disqualification, resulting in hearings over the course of several years, with the appeal.ultimately withdrawn in January 2025. The period of disqualification isongoingand will end on 14 August 2027. * The Commission issued anOfficial Warning in September 2022to the charityfor mismanagementduring the period from when it was incorporated in 2013 to the beginning of 2019. * Remedial actions have now been implementedat the charity, including proper separation from the union, appointment of new trustees, and establishment of a distinct identity for the charity. It has also adopted a new funding model, after the Football Association and Premier League stopped funding of the charity upon its separation from theunion.

AngelaAscroft,CriticalCaseLeadat the Charity Commission said:

In this case, the lines between the charity and Professional Footballers' Associationunionwere blurredbeyond distinction, resulting in the multiple instances of conflict of interest and mismanagement at the charity.

Charity trustees have a duty to act in the best interests of their charity, buttrustees at the Players Foundation felldismallyshort of this expectationand,asa result,let downthe players they were supposed to be helping.

TheCharity Commission's extensive regulatory involvement led to the disqualification of trustee Darren Wilson. Since then, the Players Foundationis moreseparated from the union and can now focus onhelping those it was set up to serve.

The full inquiry report is available at gov.uk

ENDS

Notesto editors

*

The Charity Commissionopened the inquiry into the charity, under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 On 20 December 2019.

*

The Commission disqualified one trustee, Mr Wilson, from being a trustee or holding a position in a charity with a senior management function for a period of 4 yearsin accordance withsection 181A of the Act. Mr Wilson was a trustee of the charity and the director of finance of the union during the period in which the events and decisions referenced in this report occurred and, as a result, was disqualified for his role in the mismanagementidentifiedabove. The inquiry also used its powers under section 181B(4) of the Act to suspend Mr Wilson from being a charity trustee until any disqualification took effect. Mr Wilson appealed against hissuspension and disqualification, resulting in hearings in the First Tier Tribunal (Charity) and the Upper Tier Tribunal over the course of several years. His appeal wasultimately withdrawnin January 2025. The period of disqualification is ongoing and will end on 14 August 2027.

*

The Commission issued an Official Warning to the charity on 7 September 2022 for the collective mismanagement by its trustees as described in this report. The trustees sought permission fromtheCommission - which was refused - and thenthe High Court to institute proceedings in pursuit of a declaration under s.1157 of the Companies Act 2006 that they should not be held responsible for the mismanagement cited in the Official Warning. The application was unsuccessful: after a hearing it was refused by the High Court in July 2022.

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