SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Times has reported that the FA is willing to implement a ‘golden share’ in a move to block Premier League giants from pursuing a radical overhaul of English football’s competition and reward structures.
Dominating this weekend’s football headlines, the Daily Telegraph published its exclusive report outlining the objectives and changes that had been drafted by the owners of Liverpool FC and Manchester United under a joint plan titled ‘Project Big Picture’.
Central to the controversies and explosive headlines, Liverpool and Manchester United will team-up with ‘Big Six’ counterparts Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City to overhaul the voting system and decision-making capabilities of the Premier League.
Yet to make its official comment on developments, The Times reported that FA leadership will ‘block any attempt to effectively give all the power to the big clubs and further enrich them using the golden share it received when the Premier League was established in 1992’.
The golden share empowers the FA with a definitive vote on key issues within its remit as the governing body of English professional football.
Alongside Premier League counterparts, the government has urged the FA to draft plans on how to bridge the financial gap between the Premier League football and England’s lower divisions.
The Times maintains that at best Premier League owners are neutral with regards to Big Picture proposals, with changes requiring the support of 14-of-20 top flight clubs.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting with regards to the future of EFL Chairman Rick Parry who publicly supported the radical measures.
Premier League and EFL bosses are reported to be dumbfounded at Parry’s cavalier attitude in publicly promoting radical reforms across nationwide media, without any form of official support by EFL clubs or stakeholders.
“Sources have told The Times that Parry invited the six clubs to break away from the Premier League and join the EFL, a move described by one senior figure last night as a ‘reverse takeover’. When that was put to Parry yesterday, he declined to comment,” The Times revealed.
Football commentators have stated that Parry’s position as EFL chairman is untenable having caused an unnecessary rift between football leagues, owners and governance at a time when stakeholders need to secure football’s future against the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
