The English Football League could soon see a huge increase in the amount of cash that flows down from the Premier League.
At a hastily-convened shareholders meeting of top-flight clubs, set to take place on Wednesday, the Mail claims that the agreement of a new funding package is poised to be voted through.
EFL clubs and prominent figures have long been calling for not only more money but the scrapping of parachute payments, which have been deemed as being counter-productive as teams in receipt of them benefit from an obvious financial advantage. Under proposals titled 'A New Deal for Football', the Mail says the plans will be discussed and that a compromise agreement could be reached for the first time.
Earlier this year Rick Parry, chairman of the EFL, told the Telegraph: "We're totally committed to both - better regulation, but provided it goes hand in hand with a rethink on distribution."
Parry says the Government, in deciding on how to back a fairer model, must keep clubs' community involvement in mind. Parry added: "We say that it is not just a footballing argument to change the model - it's a levelling up argument for Government. What the Week of Action reinforces is just how important all of our clubs are within their communities."
Hinting that the EFL will fall in line with Uefa, whose rules state that a club's total expenditure on transfers, wages and agent fees cannot exceed 70 per cent of its revenue, he added: "We will be therefore refining in conjunction with the Premier League our own profit and sustainability rules, which don't work in the Championship because clearly, clubs are neither profitable nor sustainable."
Parry has also previously called for the scrapping of parachute payments and asked for a fairer share of TV revenue for the 72 clubs. He wants the rights for the EFL to be sold alongside the Premier League, with the former getting 25 per cent of the revenue. Parry argued that this would help remove the “cliff edge” which exists between the top flight and the second tier.
He said: "This is absolutely not about the EFL looking for charity from the Premier League, nor is it the EFL versus the Premier League. It's absolutely about the sustainability of every club, the purpose is making clubs sustainable and that needs two things – redistribution of revenues and better financial regulation, it's a very simple recipe."
A number of clubs in the EFL have been beset by financial problems in recent years. The most high-profile incident is Derby County, who were in administration for ten months before finally finding a new owner.
They also incurred points deductions and had a myriad of off-field issues, mostly related to their finances. Other clubs to have fallen foul of penalties after running into money problems include Sheffield Wednesday and Reading.
