Professional football clubs in England will soon need to apply for a provisional licence from the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to enable them to compete in English professional football, alongside any other existing licensing requirements.

In response to clients' requests to understand more, we have developed Know The Score as a free to use licensing self-assessment tool. Drawing on our experience of the new framework, we are providing this tool as part of our continued work supporting football club executives in preparing to apply to the IFR for their club's first permission to operate.

It includes seven simple multiple-choice questions to help guide you on the minimum licensing requirements and your club's readiness for meeting them. We will send you a report with your results within minutes, summarising your current state of readiness, and to enable you to identify where to focus efforts in this preparatory period.

The IFR is planning to require clubs to submit their licence applications during the 2026-27 season. With a fast moving series of consultations and updates from the IFR, further and more detailed regulation is likely to arise before then. By completing the tool now, we will also ensure that we keep you updated on our guidance as we continue to help clubs to adjust and prepare - with our team on hand to discuss club-specific issues in more detail.

By clicking on the link below you can register for and complete the self-assessment and receive our immediate review.

To learn more about the IFR, see our Guide to the IFR.