English football’s wealth has never looked more uneven. Beneath the Premier League’s global shine, a 245-page independent review has warned that clubs across the pyramid are being pulled towards a financial cliff by mounting debt, inflated wages and an ever-deeper reliance on owners.
The report, titled The State of the Game, finds that 94% of English clubs are operating at a loss. The heaviest pressure is felt below the Premier League, where two-thirds of EFL clubs — across the Championship, League One and League Two — are said to be trading while insolvent.
A widening gap below the Premier League
The divide between England’s top flight and the Championship has grown sharply since the Premier League’s formation in 1992. Last season, the average Premier League club generated 8.7 times the income of a Championship side, a disparity four times larger than it was at the start of the modern Premier League era.
That imbalance has made promotion an increasingly expensive pursuit. Clubs relegated from the Premier League receive parachute payments, but the financial protection can also fuel aggressive spending as they try to build squads capable of returning immediately.
Player wages and transfer costs have risen alongside that race for promotion. The result is a system in which clubs regularly spend beyond their ordinary income, while owners are expected to cover the shortfall.
Owners carrying the risk
More than 60% of clubs in the EFL and National League are described as technically insolvent in the report. Over a quarter would be unable to last beyond one month if their owners stopped providing funds.
The document identifies rising borrowing and dependence on shareholder backing as a dangerous combination. Clubs can remain active while money continues to arrive from ownership, yet their position can rapidly deteriorate if that support is withdrawn.
Premier League sides account for 75% of the game’s overall debt. Their combined liabilities rose from £2.8 billion in 2020-21 to £4.1 billion in 2024-25, with the figure projected to reach £5.1 billion by 2026-27.
Six-point response proposed
The review presents a six-point plan intended to reduce the threat of financial failure. Its recommendations include larger cash reserves and credible contingency arrangements for a scenario in which an owner ends financial support.
The warning is not directed only at clubs already in crisis. It portrays a wider structural problem in English football: vast revenue at the summit, escalating costs throughout the pyramid and too many teams dependent on private funding to survive from one month to the next.
