Regulator finds 94% of English top-five clubs loss-making and many reliant on owner cash

Draft findings point to widespread losses

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) released its draft State of the Game report on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, saying English football is 'dangerously exposed' to financial risk. The report found that 94% of clubs in the top five men's divisions lost money last season, so only seven of the 116 clubs in those divisions avoided a loss. Nearly two-thirds of clubs in the English Football League (EFL) and National League are technically insolvent, meaning their liabilities exceed their assets. The 116 clubs together bring in more than £9 billion a year, yet that revenue has not produced consistent profit. Average Premier League club revenue now stands at 33 times its 1992 level, the year the top flight left the EFL.

Owner cash keeps many clubs open

A large share of clubs now depend on their owners to stay in business. The regulator estimates that around two-thirds of clubs could not survive more than 90 days if owners stopped funding them, and almost a third could not last a month. Seventeen clubs would keep losing money even if their players played for free, while 32 clubs operate on about 30 days of cash. IFR chair David Kogan described the risk in direct terms:

A significant number of clubs have told us they would not survive if their owners walked away.

The report also points to Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Reading and Wigan as clubs that have fallen into financial distress in recent years. It recalls the collapses of Bury in 2019 and Macclesfield Town in 2020, both tied to rising debt.

Wage bills and transfer borrowing

Wage costs have risen sharply across the pyramid. Between 2021-22 and 2025-26 they increased by 33% in the Premier League, 32% in the Championship, 71% in League One and 63% in League Two.

About 20 clubs, mainly in the Championship, League One and National League, spend more than 80% of their revenue on player wages, and two League One clubs exceed 100%. Clubs also borrow against future transfer fees. That financing rose from £55 million in 2020-21 to £779 million in 2024-25, and about £1.2 billion of future transfer income has already been turned into cash. In 2025-26, English clubs owed around £4.8 billion in transfer payments against roughly £1.5 billion receivable, a net transfer debt of about £3.3 billion.

Premier League and EFL still apart on funding

The Premier League is negotiating a new revenue-sharing deal with the EFL, which runs the three divisions below the top flight. Media reports say Premier League clubs have offered £1.8 billion over 10 years on top of existing funding, while the EFL has asked for £1 billion over five years. The Premier League said its proposal, which clubs unanimously approved in July, meets the objectives the IFR set out. In its statement the league added:

new funding must go hand in hand with effective financial controls and wider reforms to strengthen clubs

Next steps for the draft report

The draft will undergo an eight-week public consultation before a final version is published. The IFR has proposed a six-point plan that includes stronger cost controls and contingency planning. The regulator wants clubs to manage financial risk more effectively and to prepare for the possibility that owners withdraw support. In their opening remarks, Kogan and chief executive Richard Monks wrote that English football can no longer afford to delay tackling the financial risk embedded in the game. Kogan told the BBC the aim is to act before money starts to dry up.