The Professional Footballers' Association will appoint an independent QC to conduct a "full and open review" of its structure and operations following recent discord at the union.
Long-serving chief executive Gordon Taylor has come under mounting pressure over the last week over his multi-million pound salary amid suggestions the PFA is not doing enough for its members.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at the areas the upcoming review could highlight:
The chief executive
Taylor has run the organisation since 1981 and has helped transform the PFA from an under-resourced benevolent fund for former players to an organisation that sits at heart of the modern game, with annual income of £31million and total funds of almost £62million. However, Taylor was paid £2.3million last year, making the 73-year-old by far the highest-paid union official in Britain, which has attracted a lot of scrutiny in recent days. It is worth noting he was head-hunted for the job and his pay has risen in line with television deals. But does he need to collect that much and could it be done in a more transparent way? Also, how is his salary benchmarked and what are his key performance indicators?
Governance structure
Quite simply, where are the checks and balances? Who is doing what among the five-man board, 18-strong management committee and nine on the charity's board of trustees? There is neither an independent chair nor independent non-executives which urgently needs addressing. Taylor's role, in particular, requires some clarification – he claims to be both the PFA's chief executive and its general secretary but has never stood for re-election when British trade union law demands that of the latter role every five years. Furthermore, the PFA website lists two deputy and three assistant chief executives, which seems excessive.
The charity fund
The latest PFA charity accounts show staff costs of nearly £3.8million for charity activities but elsewhere it is highlighted: "The charity does not have any employees and therefore no salaries or wages have been paid during the year." The Charity Commission, the non-ministerial government department which regulates registered charities in England and Wales, has waded in over "concerns regarding the expenditure of the Professional Footballers' Association Charity" and says it will be "engaging with the trustees to establish the facts". Issues such as term limits, full disclosure of grants and independent oversight have to be above board, is this something the PFA is doing?
What it does
Chairman Ben Purkiss initially called for an overhaul and modernisation of the PFA, an idea which has gained traction among many current and former professionals, including high-profile ex-professionals such as Danny Murphy, Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton. Among the issues they have raised are what they believe has been a lack of support for players in financial difficulties or those struggling with mental health issues. Another line of attack has been the PFA's slow response to football's dementia crisis, with campaigners such as Jeff Astle's daughter Dawn telling Press Association Sport that she "begs" players to call for Taylor's replacement and focus the union's significant resources on areas such as research and support.
How it invests
It was highlighted earlier this week that the PFA has invested £9million into memorabilia and is on the balance sheet as an asset but how is it assessing it as an asset? How often is it valued and insured and does the PFA ever intend to sell any of it? Does it do as well as shares? Until a few years ago, the PFA used to leave most of its money in the bank but recently moved its reserves into equities that have performed well, making around £1.5million last year. All of this needs urgent attention in the independent review.
