Measures covering sustainability, squad-cost ratio and controversial spend restrictions are due to be discussed on Friday
Executives of the 20 Premier League clubs are meeting in London to discuss, and potentially decide on, new financial regulations that will determine the future direction of the competition. These measures have been under consideration in some form or another since October 2021, just as the game was emerging from the crisis of Covid.
Three proposals are to be put in front of the league’s shareholders. The most straightforward looks to assess a club’s financial sustainability, adding tests that examine short-, medium- and long-term projections of a club’s finances and ensure clubs have sufficient resources to ensure any needs are met. These are similar to requirements soon to be asked of clubs by the new football regulator.
Second, there is the proposed squad-cost ratio (SCR) rule, which would replace the profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) of financial controls and limit clubs to spending no more than 85% of annual revenue on “football costs”, understood to take in everything from player wages to transfer fees and the cost of coaching staff. This measure is similar to Uefa’s for its competitions, where clubs must spend no more than 70% of revenues on football costs. Uefa’s rule applies to the nine English clubs competing in Europe this season.
