Sporting Events Bill Progresses to Lords Report Stage in Parliament

Key Points

• Members of the House of Lords began report stage scrutiny of the Sporting Events Bill on Wednesday 15 January 2026.
• The bill gives the UK government and devolved governments a legislative framework to fund and deliver major sporting events, including the UEFA Euro 2028 men’s football championship, and to support the bid for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• Report stage gives peers a further opportunity to closely examine and amend the bill following its earlier committee stage.
• Amendments tabled for the first day of report stage cover industrial action by transport staff during sporting events, an increase in UK hosting of sporting events, ticket touting offences, a prohibition on gambling advertising in host venues, infrastructure strategy, investment of profits into grassroots sport, free-to-watch broadcasting of supported events, and guaranteed hours for sporting events employees.
• The House of Lords Library has published a briefing document setting out further background on the legislation.
• The bill previously passed through second reading on Wednesday 3 June 2025 and committee stage on Monday 22 and Wednesday 24 June 2025.

Westminster (Britain Today News) July 10, 2026 – Peers in the House of Lords resumed detailed line-by-line scrutiny of the Sporting Events Bill on Wednesday 15 January 2026, as the legislation entered its report stage, a critical juncture that will help determine how Britain funds, organises and delivers a run of major international sporting fixtures over the coming decade, including the men’s UEFA Euro 2028 tournament and a prospective bid to stage the 2035 Women’s World Cup.

What Is the Sporting Events Bill and Why Does It Matter?

The Sporting Events Bill is designed to provide the UK government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a clear legislative framework through which they can fund and deliver major sporting events on British soil. According to the bill’s own stated purpose, it will enable authorities to support the hosting of tournaments such as Euro 2028 and to back the ongoing bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup.

The legislation sits at the intersection of sport, public finance and infrastructure policy, and its provisions touch on everything from transport arrangements around stadiums to how ticket sales are regulated and how commercial profits generated by hosting agreements are eventually reinvested. For supporters of the bill, it represents a mechanism for ensuring the UK can competitively bid for, and successfully stage, tournaments of genuine global scale. For those tabling amendments, report stage represents an opportunity to reshape or tighten specific elements of that framework before it becomes law.

What Happened During the Bill’s Report Stage in the Lords?

Report stage is one of the later formal stages a bill passes through in the House of Lords, following its introduction, second reading and committee stage. It exists specifically to give members of the upper chamber a further, focused chance to scrutinise individual elements of a bill and to propose changes before it can proceed toward its final stages and eventual passage into law.

On Wednesday 15 January 2026, peers began the first of what is expected to be more than one sitting day dedicated to report stage consideration of the Sporting Events Bill. During this initial day, members turned their attention to a substantial list of proposed amendments spanning transport, ticketing, advertising, infrastructure, grassroots investment, broadcasting access and employment conditions connected to major sporting events.

Which Amendments Are Peers Set to Debate on the First Day?

Members speaking during the first day of report stage were expected to consider amendments on a wide range of subjects. These included:

• industrial action by transport staff during sporting events;
• an increase in UK hosting of sporting events;
• rules regarding ticketing touting offences;
• the prohibition of gambling advertisements in host venues;
• infrastructure strategy for major sporting events;
• investment of profits into grassroots sports;
• free-to-watch broadcasting of supported events; and
• guaranteed hours for sporting events employees.

Each of these amendments touches on a distinct policy strand within the wider bill, reflecting the breadth of concerns that peers have sought to address as the legislation has progressed through the House of Lords.

How Could the Bill Affect Transport and Industrial Action at Sporting Events?

Among the amendments tabled for debate is one addressing industrial action by transport staff during sporting events. Major tournaments typically depend heavily on public transport networks to move large numbers of spectators, officials and broadcasters into and out of host cities and venues, meaning any disruption caused by industrial action could have a significant knock-on effect on the delivery of an event. The proposed amendment reflects an attempt by peers to ensure the bill’s framework accounts for this operational risk as part of the broader planning and delivery process for hosting major sporting fixtures.

What Are the Proposed Changes to Ticket Touting Rules?

A further amendment under consideration concerns rules regarding ticketing touting offences. Ticket touting, the unauthorised resale of tickets often at inflated prices, has long been a contentious issue surrounding major sporting and cultural events in the United Kingdom. The inclusion of this amendment within report stage debate indicates continued parliamentary interest in tightening the regulatory framework around ticket resale specifically in the context of events supported under the bill.

Will Gambling Advertising Be Banned at Sporting Venues?

Peers were also due to debate an amendment concerning the prohibition of gambling advertisements in host venues. Gambling sponsorship and advertising has become an increasingly prominent feature of sport in Britain, and its presence at major international events staged under the framework of this bill has evidently drawn the attention of members of the House of Lords, who have sought to place restrictions on such advertising within venues hosting supported events.

How Does the Bill Support Grassroots Sport and Broadcasting Access?

Two further amendments considered during report stage relate directly to public benefit and access. The first concerns the investment of profits into grassroots sports, addressing how commercial returns generated by hosting major tournaments might be channelled back into community and grassroots sporting provision rather than being retained solely within elite or commercial structures.

The second concerns free-to-watch broadcasting of supported events. This amendment speaks to long-standing debates in British broadcasting policy about ensuring that major sporting occasions remain accessible to the widest possible television audience, rather than being placed exclusively behind subscription paywalls.

What Protections Are Proposed for Sporting Events Employees?

Report stage also saw peers turn their attention to the workforce dimension of major event delivery, with an amendment addressing guaranteed hours for sporting events employees. Large tournaments generate substantial temporary and seasonal employment, from stewarding and hospitality to logistics and security, and this amendment reflects an effort to build in protections for workers engaged in delivering supported events.

What Infrastructure and Hosting Provisions Are Included in the Bill?

Alongside these specific protections, peers also considered an amendment concerning infrastructure strategy for major sporting events, alongside a further amendment addressing an increase in UK hosting of sporting events more generally. Together, these amendments point to a broader parliamentary interest in ensuring the bill supports not only one-off tournaments such as Euro 2028, but a more sustained pipeline of major event hosting across the United Kingdom, underpinned by adequate infrastructure planning.
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What Happened at Second Reading and Committee Stage?

The Sporting Events Bill’s passage through the House of Lords report stage follows two earlier stages of parliamentary scrutiny. A full debate on the key principles of the bill took place during its second reading on Wednesday 3 June 2025, during which members had their first opportunity to debate the overall purpose and scope of the legislation before it proceeded further through the House.

The bill subsequently underwent its first chance for line-by-line examination during committee stage, held across two sittings on Monday 22 June and Wednesday 24 June 2025. Committee stage traditionally allows members to examine the detailed wording of a bill clause by clause, laying the groundwork for the amendments that peers went on to table and debate during the subsequent report stage.

Where Can Further Information on the Bill Be Found?

Members of the public seeking further background on the Sporting Events Bill and its provisions have been directed toward a briefing document published by the House of Lords Library. The briefing sets out additional context on the bill’s purpose, its passage through Parliament to date, and the substance of the issues under consideration, offering a resource for those wishing to follow the legislation’s progress in greater detail.

What Happens Next for the Sporting Events Bill?

Having begun report stage on 15 January 2026, the Sporting Events Bill is expected to continue through further stages of parliamentary scrutiny before peers reach a final view on the amendments tabled across transport, ticketing, advertising, infrastructure, grassroots investment, broadcasting and employment. Should the bill complete its remaining stages in the House of Lords, it would then need to secure final approval before becoming law, at which point the UK government and devolved administrations would gain the legislative framework described in the bill to fund and deliver major sporting events, including the Euro 2028 championship and any successful bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup.

The debate over these amendments illustrates the range of practical and policy considerations that legislators must weigh when constructing the legal architecture underpinning Britain’s ambitions to host world-class sporting occasions, from the transport networks that carry spectators to the venues themselves, to the working conditions of those who deliver the events, and the long-term legacy left for grassroots sport once the crowds have gone home.