Premier League agree £250m EFL bailout deal
THE Premier League and EFL have reached a landmark agreement which will enable lower-league clubs affected by the coronavirus pandemic to access £250m in funding.
The bailout package has been months in the making and became highly politicised after the government’s insistence that the Premier League should help out the EFL.
It also follows the emergence of Project Big Picture proposals in October, which featured a promise of a £250m package for the EFL but created a huge rift between the leagues over some of the Premier League governance reforms it contained.
An initial Premier League offer of a £50m package to the EFL was rejected days after the PBP proposals had come to light and been ditched by top-flight clubs.
The reason the EFL gave for rejecting that initial offer was that it did not include provision for Championship clubs, but that obstacle has now been overcome.
A new £50m package has been agreed for clubs in the third and fourth tiers. It is understood clubs in Leagues One and Two will receive a minimum of £375,000 and £250,000 respectively, and then receive a share of a further £15m pot which will be distributed via a calculation of lost gate revenue.
These clubs will also be able to access a further pot of £20m from which monitored grants will be awarded by a joint EFL and Premier League panel. Clubs can apply based on need, and these funds need not be repaid provided they comply with transfer and wage spending restrictions and other EFL financial regulations.
The Premier League has committed to provide up to £15m in funding to cover interest payments and arrangement fees on a £200m loan to be taken out by the EFL, which it would then distribute to Championship clubs.
No club will receive more than £8.33m, and the facility is to cover PAYE liabilities only, up to the end of June 2021. The EFL will be responsible for ensuring loans are repaid before June 2024.
This fund will not be open to Championship clubs who are in breach, or suspected to be in breach, of EFL financial regulations, and clubs in receipt of a loan will be required to maintain compliance with those regulations.
EFL chairman Rick Parry said: “Our over-arching aim has been to ensure that all EFL clubs survive the pandemic. I am pleased we have now reached a resolution on behalf of our clubs and will provide much-needed support and clarity following months of uncertainty.”