Kogan says “clock is ticking” on Premier League and EFL deal as regulator warns relegation can be “near death sentence”

Independent Football Regulator chair David Kogan has warned that time is running out for the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) to reach a new financial settlement, saying the regulator may be forced to intervene if the leagues cannot agree.Kogan said: “The clock is ticking.”The two leagues have been in talks about how the Premier League supports the wider pyramid, including solidarity payments and the role of parachute payments. Negotiations have repeatedly stalled since the current framework agreed in 2019, with talks in 2023 and 2025 ending without an agreement.Kogan said the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) stepping in would reflect badly on football’s ability to govern itself.He said: “If no agreement can be reached the IFR might step in.” He added: “It would be an utter failure by football.”Kogan described “a stasis in finding a new settlement in football”, and said all sides should see redistribution as a shared interest.He said: “Going forward, it’s to everyone’s benefit for football to try to reach this understanding. 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 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 wants a deal but argued the current structure is pushing Championship clubs into unsustainable spending in pursuit of promotion.Parry said: “We think clubs should be able to rise and fall – that we should have sporting jeopardy, but without financial catastrophe.”He also highlighted the growing financial gulf between the leagues, saying: “In 1992-93 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.”Parry said: “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.”Kogan also cited Sheffield Wednesday as an example of why the regulator exists, saying the IFR would have acted earlier if it had been in place.He said: “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.“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.”