Premier League close to unveiling distribution deal with Championship clubs

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The Premier League is reportedly close to agreeing a new system for distributing money to lower leagues and a major reform of parachute payments, according to The Times.

The plan, which is called ‘A New Deal For Football’, has reportedly received broad support from the 20 Premier League teams, with the proposals coming after pressure from the UK government and the fan-led review of soccer by Tracey Crouch, which was published last November.

According to The Times, the new system will allocate cash to clubs in the second-tier Championship on a sliding scale of funding based on where they finish in the table, similar to the merit payments in the Premier League.

There will also reportedly be a new system of cost control to prevent lavish spending.

Parachute payments, a sum of money given to teams relegated from the top flight to compensate for loss of revenue, are set to be heavily reduced from the UK£44 million ($76 million AUD) given to clubs for the first season after they go down.

The thinking behind this is that it would help reduce the ‘cliff edge’ between the Premier League and the Championship.

The details of the new deal are yet to be finalised but The Times adds that there was a general consensus on the principals.

Other proposals are said to be around infrastructure grants for clubs in the English Football League (EFL), which consists of the second, third and fourth tiers of English soccer. These would see the Premier League provide ringfenced funding for capital projects such as improvements to stadiums and training grounds.

These measures would look to stop the extra money just being spent on player transfers and salaries, and fuelling inflation in the domestic game. Premier League clubs are purportedly worried that too many Championship clubs are spending above their means.

The overhaul in the Premier League’s relationship with EFL comes as Alison Brittain has been named as the new chair of the top flight.

The appointment means the two most senior positions in English soccer will both be women after Debbie Hewitt was confirmed as the first chairwoman of the Football Association (FA).

“I have been a football fan since I was a child and so am absolutely delighted to be appointed chair of the Premier League,” Brittain said in a statement.

“The game is of enormous national importance, is loved by so many people around the world and can have a tremendous positive impact on communities.

“It will be a real privilege to be able to help to develop plans for the future and work with all the key stakeholders in the game to ensure its long-term sustainability and success.”

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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