Top flight must be pushed to ‘dig deep’

The Government has been urged to pressurise the Premier League to “dig deep” for grass-roots football funding after opening talks on a financial commitment that will start next year.

The collapse of the proposed £600 million Wembley sale has placed renewed scrutiny on the Premier League’s current allocation for grass-roots projects, which stands at £100million per year and represents 3.6 per cent of its overall £8.3billion broadcast deal.

There is a petition calling on the figure to be upped to five per cent, while The Daily Telegraph’s “Save Our Game” grass-roots manifesto is advocating an independent commission to study funding options and decide whether the Premier League should pay more. The wider context is how the Football Task Force of 1999 recommended that “a minimum of five per cent of income” would be available “primarily for investment in grass roots”.

Members of that Task Force have since told The Telegraph that they regarded this as a commitment in return for them supporting the Premier League’s lucrative collective selling model.

Culture secretary Jeremy Wright was asked yesterday in the House of Commons about grass-roots funding, and said he expects the Premier League’s payments to remain at a minimum of £100million per year.

“Up to 2019, football is benefiting from £100million investment from the Premier League and I’ve begun the discussion with them about ensuring it remains at least at this level for the next three years,” said Wright, who then replied “yes” when asked by Labour MP David Crausby if they would put “more pressure on the Premier League to dig deep in their pockets”.

Crausby is campaigning for five per cent of the league’s revenue. “Football’s coffers in this country are overflowing with money, except of course when it comes to grassroots football,” he said. “One in six matches are postponed and one in three pitches are inadequate. Money is coming in from the professional game as a result of government pressure but nowhere near enough. If we are to remain even close to the forefront of the game, we need to do even more for children’s football.”