The English Football League (EFL) which comprises clubs in Championship, League One, and League two tiers of English football has rejected Premier League‘s £50 million bailout fund.
The bailout fund came in form of interest-free loans that are only available for League One and League Two clubs. Premier League attempts to help the clubs to remain afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic which has forced football games to be played behind closed doors since June thereby limiting the club’s revenue.
Though the Premier League has concluded on the offer for League One and League Two clubs, the apex league in England is yet to decide on how to assist Championship clubs financially amid the revenue draining pandemic.
In reaction to Premier League‘s offer to League One and League Two, the clubs in those leagues believe that the Premier League is trying to create a divide between the Championship clubs and clubs in League One and League Two. They insisted that they would not accept any offer that is not for all the members of the EFL – Championship, League One, and League two.
EFL issued a statement on Thursday, October 15, saying: “EFL clubs have today met by division to discuss the conditional offer put forward yesterday by the Premier League concerning the financial support required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The need for continued unity across the membership base was fundamental to discussions across all three divisions, and therefore there was a strong consensus that any rescue package must meet the requirements of all 72 clubs before it can be considered in full.
“The League has been very clear in its discussions of the financial requirements needed to address lost gate receipts in 2019/20 and 2020/21, and while EFL clubs are appreciative that a formal proposal has now been put forward, the conditional offer of £50m falls some way short of this.
“The EFL is keen to continue discussions with the Premier League to reach an agreeable solution that will address the short-term financial needs of all of our clubs and allow us the ability to consider the longer-term economic issues in parallel that specifically look to achieve a more sustainable EFL for the future.”
The rejection of the Premier League‘s offer by EFL could be seen as the continuous beef between the two league bodies. Recall that the EFL embraced the proposed Project Big Picture which was initiated by Manchester United and Liverpool but the Premier League stood against it.
The Proposal which sought to give more power to the top 6 clubs in the league, provide £250 million relief funds for EFL clubs, scrapped EFL Cup, and Community Shield, among other provisions, was voted against by Premier League clubs on Wednesday.
The fact that the Premier League clubs kicked against the proposal must have left a bad test in the mouth of EFL clubs that have been clamoring for the kind of relief fund provided for in the Project Big Picture.
Meanwhile, the Premier League has made it clear that the £50 million bailout fund is still on the table for those EFL clubs that wish to access the fund. And the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters has insisted that there is no beef between the Premier League and the EFL.
