Premier League told to boost funding of smaller clubs
The two top football leagues in England – the Premier League (PL) and the English Football League (EFL) have been told to “urgently” agree on sharing more revenue with clubs down the football pyramid, or risk having a settlement forced on them, say MPs.
A report says that if no plan is reached soon, the government could bring forward the setting up of an independent football regulator (IREF) “to impose a deal.”
The report by the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee concludes that the sport must be held accountable for how it tackles discrimination by the new regulator, saying it is “sceptical” it will deliver standards by itself.
The committee called for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) measures to be included in a new code for football governance and for the regulator to have powers to assess clubs’ action plans.
The MPs want “an increased, strategic redistribution from all leagues down to the grassroots” in order “to safeguard the long-term stability of the game”.
“Unless the football authorities get their act together soon on agreeing a fairer share of revenue, we risk more clubs collapsing, with the devastating impact that can have on local communities,” said chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP.
“It’s in the best interests of all involved to get this sorted quickly.”