COPA Compliance
Built for Clubs. Aligned to Football Regulation.
COPA: What it is and Why it exists
COPA is a football‑specific governance, risk and compliance proposition designed to help clubs respond to the new IFR regime in a practical and proportionate way. Designed around the realities clubs face, COPA helps clubs build clearer governance, stronger oversight, better evidence and a more sustainable route to regulatory readiness in practice.
The new IFR regime will require clubs to do more than simply understand the rules. They will increasingly need a practical, proportionate way to organise governance, evidence, oversight and regulatory readiness in practice. For many clubs, the challenge is not only interpreting the direction of regulation. It is translating emerging expectations into a workable, sustainable operating model that can stand up to scrutiny.
What COPA Does
COPA helps clubs move from regulatory expectation to practical operating discipline through:
Framework
An IFR‑aligned control framework tailored to football’s regulatory context.
Platform
A digital operating environment supporting governance, oversight, monitoring and evidence.
Support
Proportionate implementation guidance to help embed the model in day‑to‑day practice.
COPA Squad
Rishi Gajree
GRC Founder & Director
[email protected] #07974141742
Executive-level governance, risk and compliance leader and specialist with 25+ years’ experience in regulated financial services, underpinned by deep research into the Football Governance Act and IFR guidance.
Elliot Poublan
Initia Risk Founder
GRC platform founder with risk management experience across financial services and insurance, underpinned by practical delivery of enterprise risk frameworks, regulatory submissions and governance capability in complex regulated businesses.
Andy Sumner
COPA Partner
Executive-level governance, regulatory compliance and transformation leader with 35+ years’ experience in highly regulated banking, underpinned by a strong track record of embedding governance and control frameworks through major organisational change.
Mark O’Riley
COPA Partner
Qualified lawyer and doctoral researcher focused on football club ownership regulation and governance, underpinned by sector experience across research, policy and club engagement, including work with Fair Game and its member clubs.
How clubs engage with COPA
A practical, proportionate path from first conversation to diagnostic and next steps
Optional IFR Readiness Snapshot
This short self‑assessment is an optional tool for clubs who want an early sense of their current IFR‑readiness position. It sits outside the traditional COPA contact and engagement routes, and is simply a practical way for clubs to reflect on how things work today. Clubs that complete it receive a concise, one‑page snapshot summarising their current position. It is not a diagnostic, audit or legal review - just a quick, structured check‑in that helps COPA understand your starting point should you choose to engage further.
GRC Group will use the information you provide to review your club’s current readiness position and, where appropriate, follow up regarding an introductory conversation or further support. This assessment is hosted using a third-party online form provider on our behalf. See our Privacy Notice for more information. This assessment is for general information only and does not constitute legal, regulatory or other professional advice.
Built around IFR-aligned operating areas
Make COPA Compliance Work for Your Club
An introductory conversation helps us understand your club’s context, timing and practical pressures, and decide whether a deeper diagnostic may be valuable.