Premier League clubs are considering how to break the financial impasse with the EFL - with the latest proposal a system used in the Dutch league
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner
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Birmingham City will hope the boot is firmly on the other foot, or at least their foot is in the other camp, when the financial agreement between the Premier League and EFL is finally reached.
Blues’ owners Knighthead have made no secret of their desire to return the club to the top division for the first time since 2011.
Chairman Tom Wagner has also been very explicit in his belief that to do that Blues need to be earning the revenue to attract the players that will not only get them but keep them there.
As things stand the revenue difference between the Championship and the Premier League is a cliff edge. Huge TV monies mean the team that finishes bottom of the top flight will receive around £100million, while the side that comes top of the second tier gets around a tenth, £10m.
That combined with parachute payments mean whoever goes down to the Championship usually goes straight back up, a la Burnley and Leeds United last season and potentially Ipswich Town and maybe even Southampton this.
Many Championship clubs feel the disparity in income is the biggest issue in the game, leading the EFL to demand a new financial arrangement, although talks on the ‘New Deal’ haven’t got anywhere for a couple of years.
That would have seen about £880m shared over six seasons – and had been described as ‘a step in the right direction but not the answer’ by the EFL – but there was a disagreement about how it should be funded as some clubs argued ‘bigger members of the division’ should make a greater contribution.
The Government hopes that the new Independent Football Regulator can revive discussions or step in and impose a solution if there is no agreement.
Now The Guardian claims that ‘a number of mid-ranking Premier League clubs’ are putting forward a new option to break an impasse between the EFL and the Premier League.
Clubs are said to be currently making their case to the regulator that there should be a levy on Uefa income, as is the case in countries such as the Netherlands.
The Guardian writes: “The Premier League’s six clubs in the Champions League this season are poised to receive a combined total of more than £600m in broadcast income and prize money.
“Dutch clubs in Uefa competitions must pay five per cent of their group-stage prize money to teams in the league that did not qualify for Europe, a figure which drops to 3.75 per cent of revenue in the knockout stages. In addition, 15 per cent of the clubs’ Uefa revenue is distributed to teams in the second tier.
“A source at one established top flight club said, ‘We all want to do a deal with the EFL but why should it be solely funded by the Premier League’s TV money? If that’s the case then a disproportionate burden will fall on the smaller clubs, who in effect will be funding their direct rivals in the EFL. There is going to be a hell of a debate about how this is funded.’”
A plan for this kind of innovation is said to be 'in its infancy'.
It would be a massive shock if anything is agreed quickly, or even while Blues remain in the Championship, accepting there are no guarantees of promotion. But a fairer distribution would work for Blues if they remain an EFL club.
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