Clear ownership and dependable disciplines matter.
More than 25 years of executive GRC experience shows that good outcomes depend on leadership visibility, repeatable routines, usable evidence, effective challenge and timely action.
About COPA
Built to strengthen how football clubs operate.
Developed by The GRC Group and delivered through a multidisciplinary team combining regulated-sector experience with specialist football capability.
COPA helps clubs understand how they operate today, strengthen what needs to work better and build proportionate GRC capability that works in practice.
Better operating capability builds better football clubs.
Regulation is the immediate catalyst. The enduring opportunity is to help leadership connect ownership, decisions, controls, evidence, technology and specialist capability around how the club is actually run.
Why COPA was created
Adapt the discipline. Respect the football reality.
COPA began with a simple observation: stronger regulatory outcomes are usually produced by stronger everyday operation, not by isolated compliance activity.
Clubs are not banks.
Sporting uncertainty, ownership structures, supporter relationships, football economics and major differences in scale and capacity must shape any practical response.
One connected proposition around the club.
COPA adapts established GRC thinking to football, builds on what already works and connects the right design, technology, implementation and specialist support without importing unnecessary bureaucracy.
THE FOUNDING POSITIONCompliance matters. The stronger outcome is a club that can explain, evidence and improve how its important responsibilities operate.
Founder perspective
Rishi Gajree
COPA was founded by Rishi Gajree, drawing on more than 25 years of governance, risk and compliance experience in regulated organisations.
His belief is that regulation should not become something that sits alongside the running of a football club. Done well, GRC should help the club operate confidently in a regulated environment, make better decisions and give leadership more freedom to pursue its sporting and commercial ambitions.
That is the thinking behind COPA.
Meet Rishi →The COPA Squad
One team, built around the club.
COPA brings together multidisciplinary expertise as one coordinated service. The exact contribution depends on the club, the agreed scope and where specialist judgement is genuinely required.
DIGITAL GRC AND TECHNOLOGY
Elliot Poublan
SQUAD #10Platform enablement, workflows, evidence and digital visibility.
Meet Elliot →
FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE AND LAW
Mark O'Neill
SQUAD #1Football governance, legal and regulatory perspective.
Meet Mark →
GOVERNANCE AND TRANSFORMATION
Andy Sumner
SQUAD #4Operating-model transformation and practical implementation.
Meet Andy →
FINANCE AND RESILIENCE
Sim Chima
SQUAD #5Financial governance, planning and prudential resilience.
Meet Sim →
SUPPORTERS AND HERITAGE
Darren Young
SQUAD #11Supporter engagement, fan matters and heritage perspective.
Meet Darren →
FOOTBALL-SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
Christian Lake
SQUAD #17Club relationships, trusted introductions and engagement routes.
Meet Christian →
EDI AND CULTURE
Nicole Allison
SQUAD #18EDI, culture and inclusive leadership perspective.
Meet Nicole →TECHNOLOGY PARTNER
Initia Risk
Initia RiskThe COPA Digital Operating Platform is enabled through Initia Risk. Technology supports ownership, workflows, evidence, actions and reporting, but does not replace leadership judgement, club accountability or proportionate operating design.
How we work with clubs
Four practical commitments to the club.
The aim is not to create another advisory layer. It is to help the club strengthen capability it can understand, own and continue to operate.
Start with what already works.
Understand the real club, its strengths and its capacity before proposing change.
Design proportionately.
Apply common principles around the club's risks, ambitions, people and operating reality.
Coordinate, do not complicate.
Connect the right expertise and technology around one model without blurring responsibility.
Build continuity, not dependency.
Strengthen the club's own ownership, routines, evidence and visibility so capability can endure.
Independence and accountability
Clear boundaries protect credibility.
A GRC Group proposition.
COPA is The GRC Group’s football governance, risk and compliance proposition, developed and delivered through the COPA team. It is not a regulator, public body or accreditation organisation.
Open to independent use.
Clubs may use the COPA Operating Standard without purchasing COPA services, technology or implementation support.
Not endorsed by the IFR.
The Standard is not official guidance, an official regulatory standard, accreditation or certification.
The club remains responsible.
COPA provides structure, challenge, tools, coordination and support. The club retains decisions, approvals, submissions, controls and continuing obligations.