EFL clubs with a big fan base tell smaller rivals they need a larger share of the £250m bailout

Clubs in Leagues One and Two of the EFL have used a meeting of all 72 football league sides to push for a larger share of the £250m bailout package agreed with the Premier League than smaller rivals.

Teams in Leagues One and Two will share £50m in grants and special ‘monitored grants’.

However, those teams with larger fan bases used Thursday’s meeting to ask for a bigger share of the money on offer.

Attendances at League One and Two matches vary from more than 30,000 to around 3,000

Clubs like Sunderland have an average home attendance of around 30,000 people compared with Rochdale, who average 3,500. 

As a result, the losses some of the bigger clubs have incurred are greater than their smaller counterparts.

‘Big clubs will have suffered massive losses of gate receipts and that is a big part of their income to fund wages,’ one official said after the meeting. ‘The proposed bail out will not solve their problems.

‘There was a difference of opinion among the clubs. Some felt the money should be distributed on a percentage according to lost income. Nothing was resolved at today’s meeting.’

Fans have returned to some stadiums but with limited capacities clubs are still losing money

Clubs in League One will receive a minimum of £375,000 and those in League Two will get at least £250,000 from a £15m grant.

A further £15m grant will be distributed using a lost gate revenue share calculation, which will be approved by the EFL and Premier League. The precise formula is yet to be agreed.

Clubs with bigger fan bases are unhappy that the initial £15m will be divided equally, so are lobbying hard to receive the bulk of the second payment on the grounds that their losses during the pandemic and ongoing liabilities are far greater, as reported by Sportsmail.

A share of the remaining £20m will be available as a monitored grant if a club can show that without the money – which could be a seven-figure sum – it will go out of business.

The EFL have negotiated a bailout package worth £250million with the Premier League

The club will then be subject to conditions, such as a restriction on transfers.

‘The fund the EFL has got will not cover the losses, that is the problem,’ said the official.

Another club commented that ‘the money should only be seen as a part contribution to the huge losses clubs have suffered’. 

Meanwhile, Championship clubs can apply for an interest-free loan from a £200m pot, which allows clubs to borrow money for PAYE liabilities from now until June.

The financial circumstances of Championship clubs vary hugely, with some benefiting from parachute payments after a spell in the Premier League.

One club told Sportsmail the loan scheme was ‘reasonable’, while another said: ‘I think it’s fair to say there was a very negative reaction to the scheme. I don’t think anyone who spoke was impressed by it.

‘The loan is only available to pay PAYE debt but the game has a cash issue created by not having attendances for almost 12 months. There should be government support.’ 

Clubs had expressed concern the loans could benefit poorly-run clubs or those making a desperate pitch for the Premier League, however some chairman were reassured that the link to future tax payments would limit such gambles.

The bailout will provide a £200m loan facility for Championship clubs and £50m in grants for Leagues One and Two

The second-tier teams also united around a concern about the standard of refereeing in the EFL.

As reported by Mail Online on Thursday, the clubs are demanding a meeting with referees’ chief Mike Riley over the poor standard of officiating this season.

Norwich City have already expressed concern about the officiating during their recent 3-1 defeat at Luton Town and Nottingham Forest were incensed over decisions during their 0-0 draw with Watford.

‘There was a general consensus among clubs that they want a reasonable standard,’ said a Championship club official.

Riley is the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, which is in control of refereeing in all of the professional game, and is funded by the Premier League, EFL and Football Association.