EFL board holds talks about Premier League's £1.5bn bid to avert watchdog's 'backstop' deal

The board of the English Football League (EFL) has met to discuss a £1.5bn bid by the Premier League to avert the imposition of a financial settlement by the sport's new watchdog.

Sky News has learnt that the EFL board, chaired by Rick Parry, was locked in talks on Thursday afternoon about the lower leagues' response to last month's offer from the top flight.

Sources said the board meeting had been scheduled for some time, rather than having been specially convened.

They added that discussions about the Premier League's offer remained ongoing and had not been formally rejected.

The EFL has already indicated to English football's top flight that it considers the terms of the proposal to be inadequate, and that it is seeking a substantially higher sum than the £1.5bn, 10-year settlement that the Premier League has tabled.

Without a bilateral agreement between the two sides, the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will be forced to step in to impose a deal on them through the use of its backstop powers.

The EFL's board meeting took place the day before the opening game in the 2026-27 Championship season.

The League One and League Two campaigns also get underway this weekend.

Sky News revealed last month that the Premier League would solicit a vote of its 20 member clubs, which was passed unanimously.

The proposal includes an average £150m in annual payments to the EFL, beginning in the forthcoming 2026-27 campaign, as well as a new 'lifeboat fund' for lower league clubs which find themselves in financial distress.

It also features a reduction in the parachute payments made to clubs relegated from the Premier League, as well as a pot of money ring-fenced for infrastructure investment at the EFL's 72 members.

The new funding would be in addition to the £1.6bn invested by the Premier League in the wider English game.

"The Premier League remains committed to finding a football-led solution and looks forward to continuing discussions with the EFL on progressing this proposal," it said last month.

Responding to the Premier League statement, the EFL said it "notes the Premier League's position following its meeting with clubs earlier today, and now looks forward to receiving its formal proposal for consideration".

"The EFL board will then review the full detail of the proposal, including its potential benefits, implications and alignment with the long-term interests of our 72 Clubs, ahead of further dialogue with the Premier League.

"The proposal will then be discussed in detail with our Member Clubs to determine next steps."

The EFL declined to comment on Thursday.

(c) Sky News 2026: EFL board holds talks about Premier League's £1.5bn bid to avert watchdog's 'backstop' deal