Relegation strugglers call for EFL parachute payments

CHAMPIONSHIP relegation strugglers Barnsley have called for the EFL to issue one-season parachute payments to the three sides relegated into League One at the end of the 2019/20 season.

The EFL campaign has been shattered by the coronavirus crisis and, although the return of the season is nigh, significant financial problems are being felt across the division due to the pandemic.

Clubs across English football are set to lose a significant windfall due to matches being held behind closed doors, stripping them of the revenue they would earn from supporters at each match.

As a result, and due to the size of the hit relegated clubs would feel in League One next season, Barnsley have proposed that the three relegated sides should receive a £7.4m parachute payment – the equivalent of the TV revenue issued to every club in the second tier.

This would mean the that the three sides entering League One next season from the Championship could get a financial boost those already in the division will not.

This is Sunderland’s final season of parachute payments following their relegation from the Premier League back in 2017.

Barnsley are currently rock-bottom of the Championship, with Luton Town and Charlton Athletic occupying the other two relegation spots, but the fight to avoid demotion is fierce as Hull City, Wigan, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City are among the clubs who could be sucked into the bottom three upon the league’s return.