The Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association have signed off on a new five-year partnership agreement starting next season which is understood to be worth around £125million.
The bodies agreed a one-year deal last summer for the 2022-23 campaign which was worth £24.94m, an increase of £1.9m on the annual value of the previous three-year deal which ran from 2019 to 2022.
The new deal is understood to be broadly similar to the one-year agreement covering the current Premier League season.
Both sides were keen to seal a longer-term agreement on funding which was why an interim deal was put in place last year. Some of the money under the agreement will be put towards projects the Premier League and the PFA co-fund and some of it will be spent at the discretion of the PFA.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with the PFA and extend our long-term commitment of support for a further five years.
“The PFA carries out vital work to support players in the Premier League and throughout the game. We share the ambition of ensuring that they have the support they need to successfully navigate the highs and lows of professional football and are prepared for life after their playing career.
“We look forward to our continued work with the PFA on player welfare, as well as a range of other important programmes within communities and those which help improve diversity among coaches.”
His PFA counterpart Maheta Molango said: “This new long-term agreement recognises the crucial role the PFA continues to perform as the players’ union.
“The new deal will support the wide range of services that the PFA provides to its members. It will also ensure the continuation of the successful projects across the game that are co-funded by the Premier League and the PFA.
“The length of this new agreement reflects the positive and collaborative relationship that has been established between the Premier League and the PFA. It ensures that we will be able to work as partners on shared priorities.
“Crucially, it also means that when there are issues that do need to be addressed on behalf of players, we will work constructively to achieve solutions.”
The partnership will help to support programmes such as the Professional Player to Coach Scheme, which aims to increase the number of black, Asian and mixed heritage players who transition into full-time coaching roles in the professional game.
As well as campaigning and lobbying on behalf of its members, the union works to support former players and their families after a dementia diagnosis, supports current and former players experiencing mental health and well-being issues and offers advice and support to young players after their release from the academy system.
The union also supports players reaching the end of their professional playing careers by providing counselling where needed, education and training services.
It also represents players’ interests on other matters which directly affect them, such as cost control measures across the domestic and European game and how player data is used.
