Football fans want nothing more than to see their clubs do well. For some, that means winning the Premier League year after year, for clubs that means retaining a place in the English Football League. The elation that fans experience when their League Two side wins is the same as when a club in the Championship or Premier League picks up three points. That’s also why fans of lower-league sides enjoy betting on their clubs just as much as those nearer the top of the pyramid, often taking advantage of the same bookmaker promotions and bonuses as they do it. In fact, most bookies offer similar levels of coverage to EFL sides as they do EPL so fans of all clubs can enjoy the additional elements that betting adds to the sport.
But while fans’ interest and passion remain consistent at every level of the sport, club finances don’t, and teams like Scunthorpe United know how real fiscal pressures are outside of the handful of big clubs in England.
The Crouch Report
Back in November, the former sports minister, Tracey Crouch, proposed that an independent regulator for football be established to prevent the sport from “lurching from crisis to crisis” and to help establish the long-term financial stability of the game. She also suggested that clubs in the top flight should pay a tax on their transfers to help support clubs below them.
So far, little progress has been made and it was reported in The Guardian that Premier League clubs and the EFL were in “secret talks” to remove the existing mechanism of parachute payments.
What would replace them has not been revealed, it is thought that any new system would share money more evenly with clubs outside of the top flight. For Scunthorpe, which has been widely regarded as one of English football’s most prudent clubs, any extra money could be put to good use in buying more talent or by investing in facilities that could be used to generate more revenue.
No Change in Sight
So far, it still seems like conflicting interests at different levels of the sport will mean that nothing will change any time soon. This will, therefore, mean that clubs up and down the English pyramid will have to continue to find creative ways to fund their operations.
Owners and managers will need to maintain their existing approach and assume that no new sources of “solidarity” funding will be coming anytime soon.