Football clubs should be prevented from playing in England's top eight divisions if they fail to publicly reveal their owners, according to a Conservative MP's proposed laws.

Teams would be limited to competing in the fifth tier of non-league football – the Sydenhams Wessex League level – if they fail to provide the information to the Football Association (FA), their league and the public, under legislation drafted by Damian Collins.

The FA should also be given "absolute discretion" in ruling whether an owner passes the "fit and proper persons test" to run a club, a task currently overseen by the leagues, Mr Collins proposes.

The MP for Folkestone and Hythe wants the so-called "football creditors rule" to have no effect in order to prevent a club in administration paying its players and other football debts in full first.

Prize money and the golden share, which enables a team to compete in competitions, should be handed to an administrator to ensure all creditors receive an equal share of cash owed, Mr Collins added.

The measures also seek to make it easier for supporters' organisations to raise the cash needed to buy a controlling stake in a club.

The ideas for the English game are included in the Football Governance Bill, which has been drawn up by Mr Collins.

It has been brought forward as a private member's bill and is due to be published in the coming days.

The Bill has emerged after repeated calls from MPs for the Government to introduce legislation to reform the governance of the game.

This is particularly in light of the jailing of Birmingham owner Carson Yeung, Massimo Cellino failing the Football League's owners' and directors' test while attempting to purchase Leeds, and Coventry travelling to Northampton to play home games.

Ministers have stated the football authorities have introduced some reforms, indicating they will act if more changes are not introduced.

Clause one of Mr Collins's Bill aims to ensure clubs publicly reveal their owners.

It states: "A football club shall only be entitled to play in the top eight levels of English professional and semi-professional football if they declare to the Football Association, their League, and in public the ultimate beneficial owner of the club."

If the beneficial owner is a trust or a community benefit society then relevant details required are outlined in the Bill.

Mr Collins, a former member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said: "I think it's the least fans deserve to know - who owns their club - and if that information is public it ensures greater scrutiny of who they are, their interests.

"We've yet to see a club where the identity of an owner is kept secret enjoy success."

Mr Collins added: "Hopefully the Bill can inform the debate. I think in some areas - the fit and proper persons test - the issues and problems are still current, as we've seen with Leeds United and Birmingham City.

"We need to look at how to give statutory underpinning over a more discretionary test.

"The football creditors rule is an ongoing issue coming out of the select committee and Government responses and the football authorities are very reluctant to look at that area."

Private member's bills rarely succeed unless they have Government support and sufficient time to complete all the necessary stages in both the House of Commons and Lords.

There is no time currently allocated to discuss private member's bills in the Commons before the end of the current parliamentary session in May.

Mr Collins said he plans to reintroduce it for the next session.

His office said fellow Tories backing the Bill include John Whittingdale - chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee - Tracey Crouch, Philip Davies, Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt and Justin Tomlinson.

Labour MPs Clive Betts, Jim Cunningham, Paul Farrelly, Steve Rotheram and Gerry Sutcliffe, plus Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders, have also been named as supporters of the Bill.