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Friday, 29 March 2024

EFL clubs facing "cash hole" of £200 million by September

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EFL clubs facing 'cash hole' of £200 million by September
EFL clubs facing "cash hole" of £200 million by September
Parry says EFL faces a £200 million "cash hole" by September

SHOWS: VARIOUS, ENGLAND, UK (MAY 5, 2020) (PARLIAMENT TV - ACCESS ALL, NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS USE ONLY, CANNOT BE USED FOR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT OR SATIRICAL PURPOSES, PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST USAGE MUST BE CLEARED WITH PBU) 1.

WIDE OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE 2.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MP FOR SHIPLEY, PHILIP DAVIES, ASKING: "Surely just in the short term, whether you call it a bail out or not, that is what is needed in the short term, otherwise surely, there is going to be a hell of a lot of clubs who are gonna go under." 2.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING (ON RESCUE PACKAGE/ PLAYERS NOT KNOWING DEPTH OF CRISIS): "We need a rescue package, I completely agree with that, but I do think that also at the same time we need to address the longer term because otherwise we will be back into problems in two to three years so the two need to go hand in hand.

But absolutely, as I highlighted earlier, we are heading for a £200 million cash shortfall at the end of September, that is acute, that needs a rescue, but then, as I said, hand in hand with that we need to know where we are heading in two to three years, we need help, we need a plan." 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MP FOR CARDIFF WEST, KEVIN BRENNAN, ASKING: "What discussions have you had with the Premier League about promotion and relegation?

4.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING (ABOUT PROMOTION AND RELEGATION): "Our conversations have been very straight forward.

We expect three clubs to be promoted and the Premier League is aware of our position on that.

In all the conversations we had with the Premier League, I think their position is they expect three clubs to be relegated." 5.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MP FOR CARDIFF WEST, KEVIN BRENNAN, ASKING: "What would happen if they changed their mind on that?" 6.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING (ABOUT PROMOTION AND RELEGATION): "Well, I think you can expect the lawyers are going to get wealthy if that happens.

There will be a degree of outrage, varying degree of outrage, from a number of our clubs in the championship.

It would be a breach of the tripartite agreement between us, Premier League and the Football Association.

I expect the Football Association will have a position on it as well.

So I think a safe answer to that is it would get very messy because our expectation is that there will be three clubs promoted from the Championship." 7.

WHITE FLASH 8.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING (ON SHORTER HALVES / INCREASED SUBSTITUTES AND OTHER IDEAS): "There have been discussion with the FA and FIFA about increasing a number of substitutes allowed to five.

Clearly it would be to reduce the, I guess the aim could only be to reduce the strain on the players, who will be coming back after a very long period of being away.

I don't think we should be ruling out any creative ideas at the moment, given all the challenges we face." 9.

WHITE FLASH 10.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING: "We may end up with a situation where we will have a very compressed fixtures schedule.

Where we will be trying to cram more games in than normal and so perhaps the thinking is that that would alleviate the tiredness and help the players with recovery." 11.

WHITE FLASH 12.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, SAYING: "So we actually need within days to be taking these decisions, so what we really need is guidance on the criteria for return to play.

We need that really very, very quickly because as we said, we can't delay decisions working back from July.

Players have to be back in training relatively soon, so critical dates are coming up for us." 13.

WHITE FLASH 14.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICK PARRY, (ON CLUBS CLAIMING FURLOUGH MONEY): "I think it is unfair that football has been singled out, for many of our clubs lower down, particularly League One and League Two, it has been an absolute lifeline.

It's been immensely helpful getting them through the last couple of months and the next month or two so, I am a huge fan of the furlough scheme and the speed with which it was introduced I think it was commendable.

Frankly, I see no reason why football shouldn't be as eligible as any other business to take advantage." STORY: Football League (EFL) clubs are facing a "cash hole" of £200 million by September, chairman Rick Parry told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday (May 5).

Parry, the former chief executive of Liverpool, was being questioned by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and said all involved in the game, including players and owners, needed to "share the pain".

The EFL, which includes the second tier Championship, has not played since early March.

"We are heading for a £200 million cash shortfall at the end of September, that is acute, that needs a rescue," said Parry.

He added the game also needed clear "guidance on the criteria for return to play." Parry said it was "difficult to answer" how many clubs may go out of business if the game remained off the field for a longer period.

On average Championship clubs spend more on wages than they earn in revenue, while spending on players and transfers across the three divisions has left clubs struggling for viability.

"We need a rescue package, I completely agree with that, but I do think that also at the same time we need to address the longer term because otherwise we will be back into problems in two to three years so the two need to go hand in hand," he said, referring to "root and branch" changes.

The EFL chief said he hoped players would be willing to take pay cuts despite previous resistance.

He added that an "open book" policy from the league would help the players see the need for cuts or deferrals.

Parry said the aim of the league remained to resume play when it was safe to do so, but he said the motivation was to ensure the "integrity" of the competition rather than generate revenue.

EFL clubs rely much more than Premier League teams on matchday revenue and ticket income, and Parry said playing games behind closed doors could actually be a loss-making venture for some clubs.

But regarding suggestions that there may be no relegations from the Premier League at the end of a restarted season, he said the EFL expected the current practices to continue.

"Our expectation is there would be three clubs promoted from the Championship," he said.

Asked what would happen if the Premier League's position changed, Parry said: "The lawyers are going to get wealthy if that happens.

There would be a degree of outrage from a number of clubs in our Championship, and it would be a breach of the tripartite agreement.

"The safe answer is that it would get very messy." Discussions about financial support from the Premier League had been "limited" but Parry said he hoped for some progress once the top flight has clarity over their own season.

(Production: Andy Ragg, Ursa Presern)

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