Premier League clubs face bulk of £20.3m regulator bill
The Independent Football Regulator has proposed a £20.3m annual levy on English clubs, with the wealthiest Premier League teams facing bills of up to £1.8m as its projected costs exceed earlier estimates.
England’s Independent Football Regulator has proposed a £20.3m annual levy to fund its work, placing the largest contributions on Premier League clubs as it prepares to charge regulated teams from next season.The proposed budget comprises £18.3m in operating expenses supporting 100 staff, a £1m litigation reserve and £1m towards recovering government-funded setup costs.IFR chief executive Richard Monks said: “I am aware of the £10m figure and to be clear that is not a number we believe reflects either the current financial reality or the task ahead of us.“The levy we are proposing today represents a fair and balanced approach and will ensure that most clubs pay around 0.1% of their annual revenues.“We are confident football will see this is a relatively modest investment to help achieve a more sustainable ecosystem which will provide peace of mind for fans, clubs and the communities they serve.”The total is approximately twice the upper annual operating estimate in a 2019 impact assessment, although the proposed levy also includes litigation provision and setup-cost recovery.The earlier assessment forecast annual operating costs of between £8m and £10.2m during the first decade, before the legislation and regulatory responsibilities were finalised.Under the proposed structure, the highest contributions would come from clubs considered most able to pay, including those participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions and receiving Premier League parachute payments.Leading Premier League clubs meeting the top-band criteria would pay up to £1.8m annually, while most top-flight teams would contribute approximately £600,000.Championship clubs without parachute payments would pay around £45,000, compared with £9,000 in League One, £6,000 in League Two and less than £600 in the National League.The resulting burden would fall overwhelmingly on the top flight, although individual bills will depend on the criteria rather than membership of an informal group of leading clubs.Conservative shadow sports minister Louie French challenged the scale of expenditure.French said: “Government forecast costs of their new Football Regulator to be between £77m and £106m over 10 years. Set up costs are estimated to be £45m. First year operating costs are more than £18m.“The IFR is clearly not the ‘light touch’ regulator promised to clubs and Parliament.”The regulator estimates total setup costs at £45m, to be recovered over ten years, although the proposed £1m contribution for the coming year would cover only part of that eventual repayment.The litigation reserve also creates potential variability in future bills. If additional legal funding were required, the IFR would seek a Treasury advance and recover the amount through subsequent levies.The proposal follows its State of the Game report, which found that 94% of clubs were loss-making and more than 60% of EFL and National League clubs were technically insolvent.Monks said: “We have already started to deliver real change in football – whether that’s through the stringent suitability checks we are running on owners and directors or through the State of the Game report which shone a light on how the football industry needs to change.”The IFR says it has conducted suitability checks on 40 owners, directors and senior executives and participated in discussions over a new Premier League–EFL financial settlement.