Premier League to Share 1 Billion Pounds with Lower Leagues to Support Grassroots Football

The Premier League have signed a record TV rights deal worth £5.136bn and Premier League clubs have agreed to share at least £1bn of their record UK TV rights deal with lower league sides and grassroots football.

The clubs have also agreed to pay all full-time staff the living wage by the start of the 2016-17 season.The Premier League sold the live TV rights for £5.136bn to Sky and BT for three years from 2016. Donations have risen 40% from £700m, despite the TV rights going up by 70% from £3bn.The amount agreed at a meeting of the Premier League clubs is dependent on a regulatory challenge from Ofcom and income from international TV rights sales.

In addition to providing parachute payments to relegated teams, the member clubs agreed to invest in five key areas: Grassroots facilities, Participation, Fan engagement and match day experience, Solidarity with lower leagues, andSupporting disadvantaged groups

The move comes on the same day the Football Supporters' Federation protested for the Premier League to share its TV wealth, but no definite agreement was made further than a broad pledge to help match-going fans.
All full-time staff at Premier League clubs will be paid the living wage, which is based on the amount an individual needs to earn to cover the basic costs of living. The living wage is currently set at £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 an hour in the rest of the UK.


Rhys Moore, of the Living Wage Foundation, said: "It is definitely a move in the right direction. However, the vast majority of low-paid work in the Premier League is with sub-contractors. "This commitment doesn't address that, which is why we think living wage accreditation is so important. The commitment Chelsea made to become the only accredited living wage employer in the Premier League goes so much further than this."

BBC sports editor Dan Roan's analysis
With a record new £5 billion TV deal, and with the election looming, the Premier League has been under mounting pressure to share more of its wealth for the good of the game. This £1bn 'giveaway' will please many who worry about inequality in the sport. Ahead of the result of an Ofcom investigation into how the league sells its TV rights, this also serves as a convenient reminder of the benefits of the status quo. The commitment to pay the living wage will also be welcomed by many.

Some critics will say a 40% increase in the amount the league gives away could and should have been more - given that the TV deal leapt by 70%. They will also wait to see whether a larger proportion of the money (currently 3% of revenue) goes to the grassroots - most goes to relegated clubs in the form of parachute payments.

While recent initiatives to help travelling fans will continue, when it comes to general tickets, do not be surprised if the clubs remain resistant to demands for action over price rises.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "These are unprecedented levels of redistribution in world sport, let alone football, which will deliver long-term progress for English football whether you are a fan, lower-league club or involved in the grassroots."

A new structure of the Premier league board was also agreed at the meeting, with Scudamore appointed as executive chairman alongside two independent non-executive directors, Claudia Arney and Kevin Beeston.