Premier League clubs receive warning over EFL funding deal which could be ‘imposed’ by new regulator

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has warned Premier League clubs that a funding deal with the English Football League will be imposed upon them in the coming months if the 20 clubs fail to reach an agreement.

All top-flight clubs held a conference to discuss the New Deal on Thursday 29 February and have agreed to meet once again on Monday 11 March after failure to reach an agreement during the initial two hour meeting. It is not yet clear whether a vote on EFL funding will be held at the second conference. But Frazer is hopeful that the proposal can soon be presented to the other 72 clubs competing in the Championship, League One and League Two.

BBC Sport understands that Frazer warned Premier League clubs on ‘a number of occasions’ that the new regulator, who she insists will be appointed ‘ in this Parliamentary session’ was chiefly tasked with ensuring financial stability across the game rather than becoming involved in disputes.

Frazer explained: “We don’t want this to be an issue for the regulator. It’s clear football should resolve the issues for football. It is in the Premier League and EFL’s interests to come up with a deal but it is clear if they don’t the regulator will.”

Negotiations over the new deal have been divisive with some top-flight clubs claiming that the bigger members of the league (the top six) should pay a greater percentage of the money.

At least one club in the bottom half of the Premier League is understood to have raised concerns that they would need to borrow money this year to fund its prospective share of the handout to the EFL, which is believed to be around £88m for the current season, according to Sky News. The overall sum, which will be partially tied to future TV revenues, is expected to be around £900m over six years.

Frazer said the regulator will have 'limited powers', which would not involve having a view on whether nation states are the right bodies to own Premier League clubs.

"All the regulator is doing is looking at financial stability," she said. "That is appropriate. Foreign investment is part of the economy and makes the game competitive. The Premier League is a massive cultural export. We don't want to do anything to damage that. Whether a foreign state should own the club is not in this bill. We want people who run clubs to run them well."