IFR’s proposed levy doubles to £20.3m a year — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Independent Football Regulator proposed a £20.3m annual levy: £18.3m for operations and 100 staff, £1m for potential litigation and £1m toward a £45m set-up cost to be repaid over the next 10 years.
- Richard Monks said the 2019 impact assessment’s forecast of £8m-£10.2m in annual operating costs for the first decade no longer reflected the financial reality or the task, while most clubs would pay about 0.1% of annual revenue under the proposal.
- Regulated clubs across the top five divisions of English men’s football will be required to pay for the regulator’s operations from next season under the proposed approach.
- Proposed levy would seek greater contributions from Uefa and Fifa competition participants and Premier League parachute-payment recipients, with the highest-earning Premier League clubs charged up to £1.8m per season and most paying £600,000; non-parachute Championship clubs about £45,000, League One clubs £9,000, League Two clubs £6,000 and National League clubs under £600.
- State of the Game report found that 94% of clubs were loss-making and more than 60% of EFL and National League clubs were technically insolvent.
- Independent Football Regulator has carried out suitability checks on 40 owners, directors and senior executives since being established last year and has participated in Premier League-EFL financial-settlement negotiations.
- Premier League reported administrative expenses of more than £200m in 2024/25, compared with £35m for the EFL; the IFR cites both figures to present its £20.3m levy as comparatively modest.
Why it matters: From next season, English clubs in the top five divisions become direct funders of the IFR, with the highest-earning Premier League sides paying up to £1.8m annually while the regulator says most clubs would pay about 0.1% of revenue. The burden arrives as it reports 94% of clubs are loss-making.
Ask SkimNews
