Football’s Foundations are in Danger
The English Football pyramid is in trouble. The globalisation and commercialisation, of the sport means that the disparity between the different levels of football is growing larger and larger. So, are the grassroots clubs and non-league clubs in danger of fizzling out due to lack of funding?
It isn’t a secret that the European Super League really accentuated the hunger of the top clubs to receive the bigger portions of prize money.
England has the oldest and largest football pyramid in the world. The pyramid has become extremely top-heavy and therefore facing a potentially serious crisis.
The idea that your football club may no longer exist is an alien concept for many of the football community. Sadly, every club below the top two tiers of the English pyramid is under threat.
Before the ridiculous amounts of TV money pumped into the game, the lionshare of revenue used to come from gate receipts. Prize money had an important part to play also if teams felt success.
Attendances used to be very much dependent on opponents, league position and overall quality of the squad.
Attendances have an important part to play in the stability of the football pyramid. Consistent average attendances have led to a system that worked for all levels of the pyramid.
The financial gaps between divisions has never been bigger all the way down to the National League. Parachute payments have also made it difficult for teams to compete for promotion.
Disparities in the Football Pyramid
In 2019, figures showed that the total revenue of Premier League teams was in excess of £5bn compared to £749m in the Championship, £146m in League One and £91m in League Two.
The fact that the largest gap, in terms of division-to-division is the Premier League to the Championship, is concerning given the fact that these are the two highest levels of the pyramid.
The gulf in revenue has created a scenario where promotion has largely been coveted as the primal goal for more financial reasons than sporting but then the feeling of relegation mirrors the one if you had been given a death sentence.
As a result, we do see teams speculate and gamble on their fortunes with the hopes of achieving a financially fruitful campaign.
Some clubs, will take an all-or nothing approach and are willing to leverage themselves in the hopes of winning promotion. When the gamble doesn’t pay off this is where problems start to occur for these clubs.
The further you venture down the pyramid the more clubs rely on gate receipts as their main source of income. Now with the world economically recovering from COVID-19, it has made it more difficult than ever for these clubs to try and survive.
Former sports minister Tracey Crouch previously commented on how football clubs “play a critical social, civic and cultural role in their communities”.
It’s therefore important to ensure the continuance of this culture as well as connection to even the grassroots level of the game.
The fact that FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus insist project ESL is just simply on hold, means the pyramid is extremely vulnerable if any variations of the project look to take place in the future.
Potential Solutions
The ESL threat is reduced for now and although the project was seen to be immoral by the majority of the football community, the courts recently ruled in favour of the ESL clubs deeming the project to be legal.
Crouch proposed the idea of introducing an independent regulator to solve issues surrounding governance, ownership and financial risks to the game.
Crouch ideas include:
- Work to ensure greater fan representation at all levels of governance in the game.
- Investigation into revenue flows across the football pyramid, especially the parachute payments.
- Perhaps the English Football League (EFL) should absorb the National League into its structure.
- Some sort of tax on transfer or agent fees in order to sustain the development of the grassroots, amateur and women’s game.
- Stronger protection for important club assets including badges, colours, location by giving supporters a golden share of voting rights.
- Reforming the FA, the Football League and Premier League, whereby at least 50% of the boards are composed of independent non-executive directors.
The fan representation at club level is beginning to take shape with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool and Manchester United all announcing their plans to introduce a format for fans to hold significant voting rights in club affairs.
The parachute payments in my opinion need some restrictions, clubs who get relegated have an impact giving them advantages in the transfer market as well as potentially compensation for reduced numbers coming from TV broadcasters.
The absorption of the National League into the EFL is possible if the bullet point above produces a healthy solution.
Money can be easily be distributed in a sustainable fashion to the point that the National Leagues can be absorbed. Solutions can be found to reduce the gap in revenue from the Premier League to the championship.
There has always been a debate as to whether there should be some form of levy on agent and or transfer fees.
However, clubs may now be persuaded to see this as a positive if the taxes are used to achieve long term sustainability for the rest of football pyramid both men and women.
Supporters are the core of the football culture we have. Which is why it is important they are present when deciding any changes to any assets that are part of their club’s identity.
A golden share for fans is very much needed if there is to preserve integrity in the game. This prevents owners from taking large risks and gambling on the traditions and history of the clubs they own.
The introduction of independent non-executives is an interesting concept. The idea had long been circulating the various committees that exist in the football pyramid. The idea sounds very promising although who regulates the regulators?
Final Thoughts
The imbalance in the pyramid is undoubtedly a problem. A mix of gambling, TV revenue and the capitalist culture in football means the pyramid has become extremely top heavy and the lack of leg work means the rest of the pyramid has very small calves.
Creating a situation now where the body of English football is under immense pressure.
Neglecting the very foundations that built the top division as well as adding material assets to the top divisions is going to lead to some serious injury to our body if we aren’t careful.
At the time of writing almost all the English members of the ESL have agreed to initiate fan representation at meetings that decide their club’s future.
A positive step but some of the clubs define the initiative more than others. Understandably given that its in its early stages of conception. I do however think it’s important that there are similar guidelines between these clubs regarding the fan representation.
Government intervention is definitely needed to ensure reforms are enforced appropriately. Given the handling of the recent pandemic, we may have to endure some hardship for a sizeable period of time.
The quality of the English Premier League currently is superb and it isn’t a surprise that it is the richest and most watch league in the world. For all that, they do need to remember where the foundations that keep them in the limelight.