Football regulator’s annual cost forecast doubles to £20.3m

The annual cost of England’s Independent Football Regulator is forecast to reach £20.3m, about twice the estimate made before the legislation was finalised. Clubs in the top five divisions of men’s football will be required to fund the regulator from next season.

The proposed levy includes £18.3m for operating costs, including a staff of 100, and £1m for potential litigation. A further £1m would go towards the regulator’s estimated £45m set-up costs, spread over 10 years.

A 2019 impact assessment put annual operating costs at between £8m and £10.2m for the first decade. IFR chief executive Richard Monks said that the £10m figure did not reflect “the current financial reality or the task ahead of us”.

He described the proposed levy as fair and balanced, saying most clubs would pay about 0.1% of their annual revenue. The IFR says contributions will be weighted towards clubs it considers better able to afford them, including those in European competitions and those receiving Premier League parachute payments.

The regulator estimates that the highest-earning Premier League clubs could pay up to £1.8m a season, with most paying £600,000. Championship clubs without parachute payments would pay about £45,000; the estimates are around £9,000 for League One and £6,000 for League Two clubs. National League clubs would pay less than £600.

Conservative shadow sports minister Louie French criticised the figures, saying the regulator was not the “light touch” watchdog promised to clubs and Parliament. He pointed to government forecasts of £77m to £106m in costs over 10 years, the £45m set-up estimate and first-year operating costs of more than £18m.

The IFR says its proposed levy is lower than the costs of other UK regulators and the reported administrative expenses of the Premier League and EFL. The BBC reported that the comparison had raised concerns among some at the Premier League, given its revenues.

The cost debate comes as the IFR’s recent State of the Game report said 94% of clubs were loss-making, while more than 60% of EFL and National League clubs were technically insolvent. Since its establishment last year, the regulator says it has also conducted suitability checks on 40 owners, directors and senior executives and taken part in talks between the Premier League and EFL over a financial settlement.