The Fair Game Vision for a Football Governance Bill. Fair Game.

Couper, N., Davis, A., Orriss, S., Brown, J., Reddie, W.

Overview

The primary objective of the Bill is to protect and promote the sustainability of English football. The financial divide in football is getting worse both between and within divisions at all levels of the football pyramid. At the same time, the current voting structures of the top two leagues mean it is highly unlikely that the divide will narrow.

Executive Summary

This document identifies several key facts that are important to take into account when considering the sustainability of English football:

• The current Premier League broadcasting deal is worth around £3.19bn a year.
• The current financial distribution does not reflect the distribution of attendance.
• The divide in terms of revenue and wage spend between divisions is growing
• throughout the pyramid.
• The importance of parachute payments is growing. In each of the last five seasons, two of the three promoted clubs were in receipt of parachute payments. In the 11 seasons before that only 10 parachute payment clubs were promoted.
• The number of clubs becoming technically insolvent is on the rise.
• The voting structures of the bodies that can address the gaps all favour those who benefit from the growing divide.
• Financial decisions for the Premier League and the EFL can only happen if they are supported by clubs qualifying for Europe or clubs in the Championship.
• The Premier League needs a two-thirds majority to approve commercial deals.
• The EFL’s financial distribution is set out in their articles of association. However, the split does not reflect divisional average attendance and is unlikely to change as they require 75% of clubs to support the change – meaning only 19 clubs are required to block it. With 24 clubs in the Championship, this single bloc can effectively veto any proposal.