Almost everything written about the IFR's owner suitability regime concerns getting through it: the fitness criteria, the source of wealth test, the application process, the timeline. Almost nothing addresses what happens once an owner has cleared that hurdle. The answer, under section 34 of the Football Governance Act 2025, is that an affirmative determination is not a certificate that sits in a drawer. It is a live status the IFR can revisit at any time and every existing club owner, whether newly approved or in position for decades, needs to understand exactly how.

Section 66 of the Football Governance Act 2025 gives the Independent Football Regulator a power that has attracted almost no dedicated commentary: the ability to appoint an independent expert reporter to prepare a report on a specific matter at a regulated club, with the possibility that costs or expenses may be made payable by the club under IFR rules. It is frequently confused with the IFR's separate power to appoint a skilled person. The two are not the same tool, they are not triggered at the same point, and understanding the difference matters to any club that wants to know what a genuine IFR enquiry actually looks like.