Hundreds of football fans in Carlisle have helped put the wheels in motion for a parliamentary debate on the future of English football.

Over 140,000 people - including 222 from the Carlisle constituency - signed the petition calling for an independent regulator for football.

The petition was sparked by controversial plans for a European Super League which emerged in April, and has been backed by prominent former football stars, like Gary Neville and Gary Lineker.

"Football has proven over the last few years that it can't govern itself, so it's quite clear that we need some form of independent regulator," said Carlisle United Official Supporters Club (CUOSC) vice chair, Nigel Davidson.

"It's really gathered momentum.

"It's really necessary and I think that regulator needs to have have teeth.

"It's got to be fully independent and it's got to be able to hold clubs and the owners of those clubs to account.

"If the government continue to see this through it can only be to the betterment of the game, otherwise we will continue to have scenarios like Bury, Bolton and various other clubs getting into financial difficulty and even going out of existence."

The proposals – which call for an independent regulator in the English game by the end of the year – will be debated by MPs in Westminster on Monday, June 14.

Nigel, who is also involved in the government's fan-led review of football, said the recent developments, including the announcement of a parliamentary debate felt like the "perfect storm" and a moment where football was beginning to turn a corner.

He added: "It's the burning platform. We've never had a better opportunity [for change], granted its come about in circumstances we wouldn't have liked.

"It is the perfect storm and it needs to happen now."

"It's great that there's some traction and that it's moving quickly to get to a particular point, but if that regulator comes into being, there's still a lot of work to be done."

A second petition, which is calling for increased fan ownership of English teams, will also be debated in Parliament on June 14. In Carlisle, 164 people backed a change in the law which would follow the German Bundesliga model and force professional clubs to give at least 51% ownership to fans.