Fair Game proposes plan to reform English football finances

MANCHESTER, England, March 19 : Fair Game have released a "ready‑made solution" for the incoming Independent Football Regulator (IFR), the culmination of a year-long project focused on devising a way to overhaul the financial foundations of English football.

Their 89-page report entitled "The Four Pot Solution: Redrawing Football's Finances" and released on Thursday sets out a redistribution model they said is designed to curb reckless spending, reduce club insolvencies, and restore competitive balance across the leagues. 

Fair Game, a band of clubs campaigning to improve football governance, made three main recommendations: Introducing a four-pot distribution model; shrinking parachute payments and rebalancing divisional distribution.

The group argue that their plan provides an answer to the long-running stalemate between the Premier League and the English Football League over how to share the game's 3.2 billion pounds ($4.26 billion) annual broadcast revenue.

Meanwhile, the number of clubs across the top four divisions that are technically insolvent has climbed to 62 per cent, average losses in every league have surged, and competitive balance both within and between divisions continues to deteriorate.

The new Independent Football Regulator, a government-backed body created in 2025 to enforce financial sustainability, tighten ownership rules and protect fans' interests, is expected to release its first State of the Game report later this year.

Fair Game's proposal divides central revenues into four distinct pots, each aimed at tackling a different structural weakness.

Pot 1, "The Lights-On Pot," would be for core funding to cover essential staff and infrastructure needed simply to keep clubs operating safely;

Pot 2, "The