Kieran Maguire: West Brom have ulterior motive as ‘critical’ £865m document revealed
West Brom and the rest of the EFL want to prove the social value of football as the government prepares to outline the remit of an independent regulator for the game.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the EFL’s grand plan to squeeze more money from the Premier League.
The EFL is currently engaged in talks with the top flight about a shake-up to the English game’s financial distribution system, with chairman Rick Parry angling for an extra £300m per year to filter down to the lower leagues.
As revealed by Football Insider on Thursday (19 January), the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is still on track to release a policy proposal for an independent regulator by the end of the month.
Such a body would likely have the power to intervene and mandate a new distribution system if the EFL and Premier League are unable to reach an agreement independently.
The EFL published a report last Sunday (15 January) detailing how its clubs generated £865m of “social value” in 2021-22 alone.
Maguire suggests that the likes of West Brom probably threw their weight behind the report as an overture to the government ahead of their introduction of an independent regulator.
“The timing coincides with the Premier League putting out a broadly similar document,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Who exactly is the target audience for this? Fans like the fluffiness of a report like this but then it’s forgotten about in 30 seconds.
“So, this isn’t for the fans, nor is it there for the broadcasters.
“I think it is there to try and emphasise the unique nature of football in this country in terms of preserving community and identity.
“Every club is therefore an important part of its community and it is critical that these clubs are preserved. One way of doing that is ensuring greater distribution of money that comes down from the Premier League.“
In other news, ex-FIFA official clams Brandon Thomas-Asante faces retrospective ban as “dangerous” West Brom footage emerges.