A new survey of football fans conducted by Fair Game, a group campaigning for better governance of football, has revealed near total opposition to the leaked Premier League’s ‘New Deal’ proposals. 

Premier League representatives are meeting today (Thurs 21 Sept) to discuss the Deal. The leaked proposals would see an extra £130m given to the EFL - 80% of the new cash would go to Championship clubs, 12% to League One and 8% to League Two with nothing going to clubs in the National League divisions. 

Supporters were given seven options to choose from, including the existing model, the Premier League’s New Model, a model based on EFL demands, and a proposal to distribute money according to divisional average attendances. Only eight people out of the 1,252 people surveyed (0.6%) backed the Premier League’s New Deal. 

Currently the top seven divisions in the English football pyramid receive £3.19bn through broadcasting revenue. The Premier League keeps £2.81bn (88%). The New Deal would reduce that to £2.68bn (84%) - still significantly short of the 75% the EFL are calling for (£2.39bn).

The most popular option in the survey was the Fair Game Model, attracting 78%. It would see 25% of the broadcast revenue distributed according to divisional average attendances and the introduction of a 10% transfer levy between Premier League clubs and between Premier League clubs and overseas clubs.

The Fair Game Model (78%) was the most popular option amongst Premier League fans. Only 0.4% of them backed the New Deal and 0.7% backed the Existing Model.

The Fair Game Model was also the top choice for Championship fans (77%), League One fans (74%), League Two fans (75%), and fans of clubs in the National League divisions (82%).

The Fair Game Model was backed by 84% of season ticket holders, but by only two thirds of armchair supporters.

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said:

"Football urgently needs a fair financial flow. At the top of the game the £100m transfer has been normalised. Yet lower down the pyramid, clubs are struggling to pay their energy bills, community programmes are being cut and some are even worried whether they will survive the season.

"The Premier League is the de facto ruler of the game in England right now. Our hope is that they show some proper leadership, back the deal favoured by fans across the country and support clubs throughout the pyramid - clubs that are the heartbeat of their local communities.

"And if they fail, then for the sake of football, we call on the Government to step in and give the power of financial oversight and distribution to a new Independent Regulator. Only then will the future of the game be secure."

The seven models are:

The existing model
Parachute payments for relegated Premiership clubs.
Distribution as follows:

• 88.242% To Premier League clubs
• 7.348% To Championship clubs in receipt of parachute payments
• 3.285% To Championship clubs not in receipt of parachute payments
• 0.622% To League One clubs
• 0.415% To League Two clubs
• 0.058% To National League clubs
• 0.015% To National League North clubs
• 0.015% To National League South clubs

 
Premier League’s “New Model”
An Extra £130m for EFL clubs.
The amount given to each EFL division is split along existing distribution percentages.
Parachute payments for relegated Premiership clubs.
No extra money for clubs in the National League divisions.
 
Note: While the total pot given to Championship sides is to remain the same, the percentage of that amount given to Parachute Payments clubs is still to be decided. So for modelling purposes the percentage of the broadcasting revenue given to those five clubs is the same (7.35% of the total broadcasting revenues).
 
Premier League’s “New Model”+
Raising the amount given to EFL clubs to 25% of the total broadcasting revenue (currently this figure is 11.67%).
Parachute payments for relegated Premiership clubs.
No extra money for clubs in the National League divisions.
Note: 25% is the amount the EFL are currently calling for
 
The Fairer Distribution Model
Premier League funding pot remains the same (88.284% of £3.19bn), leaving £375m to be distributed to the six divisions directly below the Premier League.
Abolition of parachute payments.
Distribution below Premier League based loosely on divisional average attendances. So pot below the Premier League is split:

• 50% Championship
• 25% League One
• 13% League Two
• 6% National League
• 3% National League North
• 3% National League South

 
The Fairer Distribution Model +£130m
Abolition of parachute payments.
An extra £130m is given to the six divisions immediately below the Premier League and distributed according to the “Fairer Distribution Model” (taking the total pot distributed to the six to £505m)
 
The Fairer Distribution Model +25%
Abolition of parachute payments.
Raising the amount given to the six divisions directly below the Premier League to 25% of the total broadcasting revenue (currently this figure is 11.758%). This leaves £798m to be distributed between the six according to the “Fairer Distribution Model”.
 
The Fair Game Model
Abolition of parachute payments.
Raising the amount given to the six divisions directly below the Premier League to 25% of the total broadcasting revenue.
Introduction of the Solidarity Levy – a key recommendation of the Fan-Led Review chaired by the former Conservative Sports Minister Tracey Crouch and published in November 2021.
The levy is a 10% stamp duty on transfers between Premier League clubs, and Premier League clubs and overseas clubs. If the levy had been in existence, it would have raised £278m over the last 12 months.
This gives a total pot of £1076m which would be distributed to the six divisions below the Premier League according to the percentages outlined in the “Fairer Distribution Model”.