IFR Sets Out Club Levy To Fund £20M Budget

• Wealthiest clubs set to shoulder biggest burden 
• Proportionate approach will fund IFR’s mission to make the English men’s game more sustainable 
• IFR budget represents 0.22% of English football industry’s annual £9bn revenues 

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has published proposals on how it plans to fund its mission to make England’s £9bn football industry more sustainable.  

A week after publishing its landmark State of the Game report, the levy delivers on the IFR’s statutory requirement to develop a proportionate model which reflects clubs’ financial resources and the competitions they participate in.  

The six-week consultation marks another important step in the IFR’s development. In the year since it was established as an independent regulator for the whole of the English pyramid, the IFR has: 

• Delivered the most comprehensive analysis of the English football industry ever undertaken: the State of the Game report highlighted the alarming financial risks faced by many clubs and will inform its regulatory approach 
• Carried out advanced checks on 40 owners, directors and senior executives to assess whether they are suitable stewards for clubs under the IFR ODSE regime. 
• Assessed several proposals for heritage changes to club crests, ensuring fans were properly consulted by clubs 
• Published 10 consultations and associated final rules and guidance  

The regulator will now shift its focus to building the licensing system for the 116 clubs it regulates – the engine room of the IFR which will enable it to spot risks and problems before they become a crisis.   

IFR CEO Richard Monks said: 

“The announcement of the levy is another big moment for the IFR. Over the last year we have been busy laying the ground for the world’s first independent football regulator. 

“We have already started to deliver real change in football – whether that’s through the stringent suitability checks we are running on owners and directors or through the State of the Game report which shone a light on how the football industry needs to change. 

“The levy we are proposing today represents a fair and balanced approach and will ensure that most clubs pay around 0.1% of their annual revenues.  

“We are confident football will see this is a relatively modest investment to help achieve a more sustainable ecosystem which will provide peace of mind for fans, clubs and the communities they serve.” 

The proposed levy of £20.3m represents around 0.2% of football’s annual revenues of £9bn in 2025/26.  

It is significantly lower than other UK regulators and the reported administrative expenses of other football bodies such as the Premier League, which had administration expenses of more than £200m in 2024/25, and the EFL, which had administration expenses of £35m over the same period.  

The IFR budget is composed of three elements: 

1. Its annual operating costs of £18.3m. This is based on a staffing level of around 100 people working from its head office in Manchester and satellite office in London. 

2. A £1m fund to cover potential litigation costs associated with regulatory actions. If the IFR requires further funding to cover its litigation costs, it will be able to temporarily draw this down from Government, before ultimately recovering it through the levy.  

3. The recovery of the IFR’s set-up costs incurred by Government and the IFR up to August 2027 spread over a 10 year period. The amount charged to clubs for the recovery set-up costs in year one will be £1m. 

All regulated clubs in the top five divisions of English men’s football will be required to pay the levy to fund the IFR’s operations from 2027/28, replacing the current Government funding arrangement. 

The vast majority of clubs will pay around 0.1% of their annual revenues with no clubs paying more than 0.5%.  

Under the proposed approach, illustrative fees are as follows: 

• The highest-earning Premier League clubs would contribute up to £1.8m per season, with fees averaging at less than 0.25% of their total revenue. 
• Most Premier League clubs will pay £600,000 per season 
• Championship clubs not in receipt of parachute payments would pay around £45,000 per season 
• League One clubs would pay around £9,000, League Two clubs £6,000 
• National League clubs will pay less than £600 per season 

These figures are illustrative and will be updated based on the latest available data when the IFR issues invoices to clubs from August 2027. 

The proposed levy seeks to ensure the greatest contributions come from those most able to afford it, and that clubs in all leagues pay a proportionate and affordable amount, that reflect the differences in revenues between leagues.  

The levy will be applied to clubs in different categories and based on their proportion of centrally distributed revenue. Those participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions, those in receipt of Premier League parachute payments and a subset of clubs earning over £150m in commercial revenue will pay an additional amount, further helping to reduce the burden on lower league clubs. 

The higher charge on clubs earning more than £150m in commercial revenue is intended to reflect material differences within the Premier League where the six-highest revenue clubs in that division generated an average of £322m each in commercial revenues in 2025/26. In contrast, the other 14 Premier League clubs earned on average £54m in commercial revenues over the same period.  

The consultation on the proposed levy will run for six weeks. Clubs across the pyramid are encouraged to engage with the consultation and provide feedback.