Sunderland were promoted to the Premier League after winning last season's Championship play-off final, which is thought to be worth at least £200m
Published February 26, 2026 • Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c3v7z4l2dnzo
By Dale Johnson (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/topics/cglgnp4394wt)
Football issues correspondent
The "clock is ticking" for the Premier League and English Football League to end their financial impasse, says the chair of the Independent Football Regulator.
The leagues have been in talks about how the Premier League helps support the football pyramid, including the controversial parachute payments as well as solidarity payments - a set amount paid to each EFL club twice a season.
The Premier League and EFL have been rowing over an agreement made in 2019, unable to reach common ground over a new settlement.
Talks in 2023 and 2025 were called off without an agreement.
David Kogan told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit that if no agreement can be reached the IFR might step in.
He said if that happened it would be "an utter failure by football".
Kogan said there is a "stasis in finding a new settlement in football" - which is not good for the game.
"Going forward, it's to everyone's benefit for football to try to reach this understanding," he said. "My message today is that the pyramid needs to survive as it exists today. And to do that, English football must come together and end this uncertainty, and it needs to do it now.
"Ultimately we [the IFR] can step in and find a solution.
"We do not want to do that. We want football to find a solution, and we want to find it quickly. But if the leagues can't find a new deal, those powers will be enacted, and we will be looking at things such as the current mechanism for parachute payments.
"Under our mandate, we are there to make the game more sustainable. I hope this message opens up the process again. The clock is ticking. The opportunity is there. We are there to help football find those solutions."
EFL chair Rick Parry said he was eager to reach an agreement. He warned that the current system creates a situation where Championship clubs are buying "the most expensive lottery ticket on the planet".
"We think clubs should be able to rise and fall - that we should have sporting jeopardy, but without financial catastrophe," Parry said.
"In 1992-93 [the first year of the Premier League] the gap between the turnover of the Premier League and the EFL was £11m. It's now £3.4bn. The Premier League's turnover has grown 80 times. The EFL's has grown six.
"It needs a fundamental rethink, and we think it's entirely doable.
"Operating losses average £17m. Debt is now £1.5bn, and wages have regularly been over 100% of turnover losses. It is the most expensive lottery ticket on the planet that clubs chase to get into the Premier League and the unequal struggle with the parachute club.
"So for us, parachute payments are a major issue that need to be addressed."
'Regulator would have pre-empted Sheffield Wednesday situation'
Kogan said that had the IFR existed three years ago, Sheffield Wednesday would not be in the position they are today.
The Owls, who were relegated from the Championship on Sunday, have been in administration since October, and a proposed takeover fell through on Wednesday.
"If you want an example of why we exist, one has only got to look at the situation in the last 24 hours of Sheffield Wednesday," Kogan added.
"This is one of the largest, most prestigious names in English football, one of the founders of English football, one of the founders of the Premier League that has spent the last two or three years in absolute chaos, including yesterday.
"And it's obvious why a regulator that can monitor, examine and if need be act was relevant to a situation such as Sheffield Wednesday.
"If we existed three years ago, many of the powers we now have would have pre-empted what has since happened. Because the powers we have allow us to monitor the financial soundness of each club, spotting problems and warning signs early so we can help steer those clubs to a more secure future."