U.K. Official Calls For Top EPL Clubs To Share Their Wealth

Burnham (c) Wants TV, Sponsorship Revenue To Be Shared More Evenly Among EPL Clubs

U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport Andy Burnham is calling for EPL clubs Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to "share their winnings" from the UEFA Champions League with other EPL teams, according to a front-page piece by Webster & Eaton of the LONDON TIMES. Burnham is "pressing for several measures to redistribute the wealth of the richest league in the world to its lower reaches." He wants the EPL's annual US$1.5B revenue from TV and sponsorship rights to be "shared out more evenly among its 20 clubs," and he also "wants smaller squads and compulsory quotas of English players in team line-ups." Burnham's demands have put the EPL "at loggerheads with the Government," and a meeting Tuesday night between Burnham and EPL CEO Richard Scudamore "broke up with [Burnham] demanding more from the game." A U.K. government source said, "We have to keep the dream in football. At present there are three divisions within the Premier League: the group at the bottom, the group in the middle and the top four. ... The Government has a duty to represent the views of football supporters across the country and we believe on these issues we are speaking with the grain of football opinion." A U.K. Department for Culture, Media & Sport spokesperson said, "We have made it clear that it is not Government's job to run football but to challenge the game on issues that are in the public interest." Still, Webster & Eaton note government officials have "dismissed suggestions that they might legislate" (LONDON TIMES, 5/7).