Today's King's Speech set out the legislative agenda for the Government over the next year. After months of campaigning by local supporters' groups, Nicola Richards MP and others, the Government confirmed that an independent regulator for English football will be established.
This is a huge boost in the campaign to ensure that historic football clubs are protected from being stripped of their assets by unruly owners. It will help to ensure that fans have a say in what happens with historical assets, such as club names and stadiums.
In the speech, the King said: "Legislation will be brought forward to safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans."
Commenting, Nicola said: "I'm proud this government is taking action to protect our community clubs, and I look forward to supporting this legislation through Parliament.
"We must protect our historic football clubs from abuse. They serve such an important role in communities like ours in West Bromwich East. Without West Bromwich Albion, we would have none of the charity work with communities that the Albion Foundation carries out.
"They are a staple of communities up and down the country, so this regulator will help to preserve them for the fans. It's a huge step forward, and I comment the campaigning of groups like Action for Albion and Shareholders for Albion in helping us to get to this moment."