PFA charity let down players, says regulator
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- Charity Commission launched a 2019 inquiry after serious concerns about the Professional Footballers' Association Charity (now the Players Foundation) and later published a critical report detailing mismanagement.
- Players Foundation transferred £1.9 million from its bank account to the Professional Footballers' Association without a clear explanation, and paid roughly 80 % of the union’s annual operating costs (about £6 million), including £5 million in salaries.
- Gordon Taylor, former chief executive of the PFA, was a trustee of the Players Foundation while also holding a salaried senior PFA role, creating a conflict of interest; the charity also owned rent‑free Manchester and London properties for the union, costing over £627 000 in interest.
- Darren Wilson, the PFA’s director of finance, was disqualified for four years from serving as a charity trustee or senior manager.
- Players Foundation has taken remedial actions: separating from the union, appointing new trustees, establishing a distinct identity, and adopting a new funding model after the FA and Premier League stopped funding it.
Why it matters: Players now receive a properly governed charity, while the PFA loses the £6 million annual subsidy and must operate without the charity’s funding; the regulator recovers £1.9 million and enforces stricter oversight.
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