Premier League clubs yesterday "again failed to agree on a new funding package" for the English Football LeagueGetty Images
The Premier League is “under significant pressure” after "failing to deliver on its long-awaited" new $1.15B (all figures US) soccer support system, according to Morgan & Percy of the London TELEGRAPH. Clubs across English soccer had been “hopeful a package was finally within sight this week,” but top-tier execs “refused to back payouts before they have settled on their own spending system.” Current Profit and Sustainability Rules are “being phased out in favour of a system broadly aligned with squad costs.” Discussions have been “taking place behind the scenes for some time,” with some clubs wanting a “significant relaxation compared with the current system.” U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport Lucy Frazer and Sports Minister Stuart Andrew have "been in close contact with the leagues in recent weeks, and had been heavily urging administrators to agree on terms." Some English Football League clubs “expressed immediate dismay at more delays" yesterday. The ongoing stalemate is a "major headache" for EPL CEO Richard Masters, who has "identified the New Deal to Government as a major priority." A planned vote at a shareholder meeting held at a London hotel yesterday was "scrapped immediately after it became clear it would not win support." Several insiders concede the meeting "may be the last opportunity to agree a package" worth more than $1.15B before a "regulator is instituted by parliament" (London TELEGRAPH, 3/11).
BEST INTEREST: In London, Henry Winter wrote for some EPL owners, “their only interest is self-interest.” Yet it "really is in their own interests to help the EFL," as it "really is beneficial for their own clubs’ footballing and financial health." The clubs are "taking their time when everybody can see that strengthening the pyramid strengthens the elite." Funds would "need to be shrewdly applied, ensuring that they are not wasted by any profligate owners." Existing parachute payments to relegated clubs "need to be absorbed fully into the total and spread more evenly.” But a glance at the EPL dugouts “confirms the New Deal is in the elite interests," as players, managers and club execs “hone skills downstairs before rising and shining upstairs.” More money "invested in EFL clubs’ coaching capacity means loaned players developing more," more funds "poured into EFL academies by the Premier League means better quality and quantity coming through." Working with EFL clubs, “supporting them properly, makes sense financially.” One of the reasons the EPL got a $8.5B domestic TV deal was “partly because of the calibre of players and managers developed in the EFL” (London TIMES, 3/11).
