The British government has issued a warning to the Premier League clubs to come to an agreement with the Football League (EFL) teams for a new financial deal or face the imposition of one by an independent Football Regulator.
The ‘New Deal’ is expected to distribute around 900 million pounds ($1.14 billion) over six years and is designed to address the disparity between the elite Premier League clubs and the 72 Football League clubs.
Richard Masters, the Premier League chief, has been in negotiations with the lower league clubs but has so far failed to get a mandate from a majority of the Premier League clubs.
The talks were paused at the end of last year, and the British Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer, has urged the Premier League to complete the deal.
Frazer has warned the Premier League and EFL that if they fail to reach an agreement, the regulator will impose one.
The UK government has promised to bring in legislation for a new Independent Regulator this year, with a mandate to ensure financial stability, protect the interests of fans, and stop clubs from joining breakaway leagues.
Since the Premier League’s inception in 1992, more than 60 English clubs, mainly in the lower rungs of the ladder, have entered administration.
Frazer said that the government is not “hanging around” to push for the Independent Regulator, which was outlined in the King’s Speech in the Football Governance Bill.
The regulator is not expected to discourage foreign investors or nation-states from investing in Premier League clubs.
Frazer emphasized that the Premier League is a massive cultural export, and the government does not want to do anything that could damage that.
Instead, the government wants people who run clubs to run them well.
