UP435 Dame Tracey Crouch: The Budget, Blame and the Football Regulator

Unofficial Partner Podcast

Dame Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch DBE (born 24 July 1975) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford from 2010 to 2024. Crouch was appointed as Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness in 2017, but resigned in 2018 due to a delay over the introduction of reduced limits on the stakes of fixed odds betting terminals.

In April 2021, Crouch was appointed to chair a review of English football following the controversy over the proposed European Super League and in response to long-standing concerns about club ownership and financial sustainability in the English game.

Following the review, in November 2021, a final report made ten strategic recommendations for the future of football clubs (PDF). The main one was for the establishment, through legislation, of an Independent Regulator for English Football (IREF).

Crouch is a qualified FA football coach and manages a youth girls' football team.[4][12] She is a keen Tottenham Hotspur fan.

She didn't stand in the 2024 General Election and is now managing director of sport at Hanover Communications.

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