The Charity Commission has disqualified a trustee of the Players Foundation for four years after an inquiry uncovered £2.5 million in improper payments to a trade union. This included a £1.9 million bank transfer and over £627,000 in unpaid rent.
£1.9m transfer and £627,000 unpaid rent trigger Charity Commission action
In a highly critical report published on Wednesday (19 May 2026), the regulator found serious mismanagement at the charity. It supports current and former professional footballers.
The inquiry revealed that the Players Foundation transferred £1.9 million from its bank account to the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). This is a trade union, without adequate explanation or governance.
The charity also allowed the union to occupy its properties rent-free, some for more than a decade, causing significant financial loss. The unpaid rent, plus interest, amounted to £627,000.
“Both sums, including interest, were repaid to the charity only after the Commission raised concerns during the inquiry. Trustees initially offered changing explanations for the £1.9 million transfer, which the regulator said demonstrated poor financial management and weak controls.”
The Commission disqualified trustee Darren Wilson from holding any trustee or senior management position in a charity for four years. It also issued an official warning to the charity on 7 September 2022 for mismanagement spanning from its incorporation in 2013 to early 2019.
The inquiry found that the chief executive and director of finance of the union also served as charity trustees. The Commission’s intervention forced the charity to disclose its remuneration transparently in its accounts as related-party transactions.
Dual trustee roles created inherent conflicts of interest
Additionally, the probe uncovered a long-standing informal arrangement under which the charity paid about 80% of the union’s annual operating costs. This is roughly £6 million each year, including £5 million on union staff salaries.
In return, the union provided coaching and training to further the charity’s aims. This arrangement operated for years without any written contract, proper review, or value-for-money assessment until the Commission stepped in in April 2019.
The regulator also noted that multiple trustees held dual roles in both organisations, creating inherent conflicts of interest. Two trustees held senior salaried union positions, while three others sat on the union’s Business Advisory Committee.
The Commission opened a regulatory compliance case in November 2018, later upgrading it to a statutory inquiry in December 2019. The charity and the union are now more clearly separated.
The Players Foundation has since repaid all outstanding amounts. Meanwhile, the regulator confirmed that no further action is pending against the charity’s current management.
Recently, the United Kingdom’s Charity Commission released guidelines for emergency fundraising that non-profits should follow. The guidelines specify when and how non-profits can contribute to relief efforts.