Premier League and EFL locked in £1.8bn funding standoff as regulator's report looms

Chasm between top flight and the rest

The publication of the IFR's State of the Game report this week lands in the middle of a bitter funding row between the Premier League and the English Football League. The Guardian reports that the Premier League has offered a new deal to the EFL worth £180m a year over 10 years, on top of the £150m annual figure currently being paid.

The EFL, however, wants an additional £207m a year and the option to renegotiate after five years. The league has also proposed the creation of a new so-called “lifeboat fund” for clubs in financial distress.

The IFR holds “backstop” powers to impose a settlement on the leagues if they cannot agree themselves — a threat that has shaped the negotiations for months.

Premier League pressed EFL to accept offer in September

Prior reporting from the BBC on 25 September 2026 detailed the Premier League's push for the EFL to accept a £1.8bn solidarity funding offer. That proposal would require scrapping the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final and include controls to prevent the extra money from being spent on player wages. The preference for a football-led solution was aimed at avoiding intervention by the IFR, which can impose a solution via its backstop powers if the leagues cannot agree.

The funding row has rumbled on since a fan-led review in 2021, commissioned by the government following crises including the failed European Super League project and the collapse of Bury FC. No redistribution deal has been agreed amid the disagreement.

With the State of the Game report now imminent, both the Premier League and EFL are expected to cherry-pick its findings to strengthen their respective positions in the standoff.