In a highly critical report, the Charity Commission’s inquiry finds serious mismanagement at the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity, which has recently been renamed the Players Foundation, the body which supports current and former professional footballers.

The charity received most of its funding from an arrangement between the Premier League and the connected players’ trade union – the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). In 2017-18, for example, it received £25m from the Premier League and £2m from the Football Association. This investigation focused on financial management and the actions of the trustees.

The six-year period under investigation was from 2013 to 2019, and focused on various transfers of funds between the charity’s bank account and the players’ union, the PFA. Questions about governance were raised when an amount of £1,906,760 was detailed in the accounts for financial year 2018, resulting in the opening of the Charity Commission investigation.

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