Your IFR application, with the football evidence behind it
The Independent Football Regulator's licence window opens on 2 November 2026 and closes on 26 February 2027. Aegis gathers the evidence, builds it into the shape the regulator expects and can run the whole application for you. Your executives stay on the decisions only they can make, instead of chasing documents across the club, and you save the time and cost of pulling people off their day jobs.
What the regulator will want to see
At most clubs the problem isn't the rules. The evidence sits across finance, the secretary's office and the football side, and nobody has a spare week to pull it together.
- A strategic business plan, approved by the board, that forecasts to the end of next season
- A personnel statement covering every owner, director and senior executive (who really decides at your club?)
- A financial plan that shows how the club would withstand the shock it's most exposed to
- Evidence of how supporters are consulted on heritage and the club's direction
- Proof of how significant decisions are made, approved and signed off
We can run the whole application for you
Aegis can project manage the full submission, from kick-off to the day you file. One plan, one owner and a short progress note to the chief executive every week. Your people answer questions and take the board decisions. We do the gathering, drafting, checking and chasing.
An example plan, built from the parts of the submission
- Aegis delivers
- Board decision
- Window opens, 2 Nov
- Deadline, 26 Feb
- Festive fixtures
Every club's plan is different. This one files a week early, leaving room for questions from the regulator before the deadline.
Three steps, from first look to staying ready
Start with the readiness assessment. Most clubs know after that whether they need more help, and how much.
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Readiness
We score where you stand against each requirement, rank the gaps by risk and give you a 90-day plan the board can sign off.
You receive a readiness score, an executive risk summary and a gap and action plan.
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Delivery
We build the evidence in the shape the regulator expects, manage every workstream to a single plan and close the gaps before you submit.
You receive an evidence register and a complete evidence pack.
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Monitor
A licence isn't a one-off. Each quarter we report what has changed, from new directors to forecast movement, so the board stays ready.
You receive a quarterly board report.
The football side of the plan
Most advisers stop at the numbers. We connect the financial plan to the football decisions underneath it: squad cost, contract runway, player trading and manager stability. If one of those assumptions fails, we show the board what happens next.
- Requirement-by-requirement readiness assessment
- Evidence register, mapped to its source
- The football assumptions behind your financial plan
- Resilience scenarios: relegation, missed promotion, loss of owner funding, a drop in revenue
- Personnel statement and governance evidence
- Supporter engagement and heritage evidence
- Decision records for signings, manager changes and capital spend
- Board briefings and quarterly monitoring
Seven questions to answer before you submit
A short self-assessment for chief executives. It takes about five minutes, and you see your score as soon as you finish. It shows where you're in good shape and where to start. If it's useful, I'm happy to go through your answers with you.
Take the assessmentDoes the football operation support it?
- 1Could you show the board which football assumptions the financial plan depends on?
- 2Have you modelled the shock you're most exposed to, and does the plan show how you'd withstand it?
- 3Can you evidence how supporters are consulted, and what changed as a result?
Do you know what it commits you to?
- 4Could you list today every owner, director and senior executive the personnel statement needs?
- 5Is there a board-approved plan to the end of next season that someone would sign as accurate and complete?
Could you prove it?
- 6For a big decision in the last year, could you produce the paper, the approval and who signed it off?
- 7Who owns the application inside the club, and do they have the time and access to gather the evidence before 26 February?
Aegis is independent and isn't affiliated with or accredited by the Independent Football Regulator. Our work supports your application. It doesn't replace legal or accounting advice, and it isn't a decision on your licence.
Half an hour, no deck
If any of those questions made you pause, I'll happily go through them with you on the phone. If you're in good shape, I'll say so.