STORY
The Charity Commission has said £2.5 million has been recovered for the Players Foundation after an inquiry found serious mismanagement at the football charity. The organisation was previously known as the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity and was established to support former and current professional players.
The regulator said £1.9 million had been transferred from the charity’s bank account to the Professional Footballers’ Association trade union without adequate explanation or governance. It also found that the charity had allowed the union to occupy its properties rent free for several years, causing financial loss to the charity.
The Charity Commission said the transferred sum, interest and outstanding rent had been repaid after it raised concerns. It said trustees had let down the players the charity was intended to support, and one trustee had been disqualified from serving as a trustee or holding a senior management position in a charity for four years.