EFL clubs are left in the dark as Premier League clubs fail to reach an EFL funding deal in latest meeting.
A meeting that took place on Monday between Premier League clubs ended with no agreement on a funding deal for EFL clubs. There is now a risk for clubs that they could have an independent regulator imposed on them, as warned by the UK Government.
Top flight clubs ended the meeting without making an offer due to their priorities being set on thrashing out a new financial system to replace the current profitability and sustainability rules.
The Premier League sides have mooted a potential six-year deal that would see the EFL granted 14.75 per cent of the Premier Leagues net media revenue – a deal that is projected to be worth around £900 million.
The co-owner of Salford City Gary Neville has slammed the Premier League for negligence towards the rest of English football and branded the failure to reach a deal as an “absolute disgrace”.
“I am more interested in the vote they didn’t have, which was to support the rest of the Football League which they keep bumping down the road and it’s an absolute disgrace,” the former Manchester United defender told Sky Sports.
“It is about the welfare of the game and the sustainability of the whole league.
“The Premier League at this moment in time are negligent in their dismissive nature, just pushing it down the road, thinking ‘maybe a regulator will sort it, maybe we’ll sort it’ and not doing anything.
“That’s not good governance, it just demonstrates to me that they are not looking after the whole game like they should be.
“It angers me every time I see they have a Premier League meeting and seem to look after themselves but not look after the rest of football.”
The Premier League were clear on their stance, however, they made no comment in response to Neville’s comments, when contacted by PA news agency. A Premier League spokesperson reaffirmed the league’s stance on the deal, with their priorities on a new financial system that they say will provide “certainty for clubs”.
“At a Premier League shareholders’ meeting today clubs agreed to prioritise the swift development and implementation of a new league-wide financial system,” the spokesperson told PA.
“This will provide certainty for clubs in relation to their future financial plans and will ensure the Premier League is able to retain its existing world-leading investment to all levels of the game.
“Alongside this, Premier League clubs also reconfirmed their commitment to securing a sustainably-funded financial agreement with the EFL, subject to the new financial system being formally approved by clubs.
“The league and clubs also reaffirmed their ongoing and longstanding commitment to the wider game which includes £1.6 billion distributed to all levels of football across the current three-year cycle. The Premier League’s significant funding contributions cover all EFL clubs and National League clubs, as well as women and girls’ football, and the grassroots of the game.”
The EFL declined to comment on the issue but they are expected to discuss the topic at a board meeting which is set to take place later this week.
Writer’s View
The dismissal of a deal that would provide essential funding to the lower divisions of English football simply shows that Premier League have their priorities wrong.
In a time where so many EFL clubs have struggled to stay afloat financially, with clubs like Bury and Macclesfield Town being forced to form new sides and a number of clubs seeing points deductions, it feels wrong for England’s richest clubs to prioritise a financial system that would benefit their own finances rather paying some attention to the rest of the pyramid.
It appears that the Premier League are likely to continue to stall on the deal until they are physically forced to support the clubs below them. If the top clubs are happy to source players that have grown in the lower leagues, where a lot of top players have came from, they should not be as stingy as they are coming across.
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