The Premier League has put forward a long-term funding proposal to the EFL, with the two bodies and the new Independent Football Regulator meeting on Tuesday to discuss the outline of a deal that would start in the 2026/27 season Premier League.

Representatives from all three parties gathered for talks described by the EFL as constructive, following months of discussions. The EFL released a statement noting the Premier League's position after its own meeting with clubs and said it looks forward to receiving the formal proposal in full BBC Sport.

Next, the EFL Board will review the detail — the potential benefits, the implications, and whether it lines up with the long-term interests of the 72 clubs across the Championship, League One, and League Two. The proposal will then be discussed with EFL member clubs to determine next steps BBC Sport.

This has been a long time coming. A fan-led review was commissioned by the UK government in 2021, triggered by two events that shook the game: the botched European Super League — a closed-shop breakaway plan that collapsed inside 48 hours — and the collapse of Bury FC, a 125-year-old club expelled from the EFL because it could not meet its financial obligations BBC Sport.

By March 2024, government officials had warned the Premier League that if it and the EFL could not agree a funding deal on their own, one would be imposed on them BBC Sport. That threat now sits alongside the regulator itself, a body created to keep watch over the financial health of English football.

The resistance inside the Premier League has been real. Some top-flight clubs have questioned why they should hand money to sides competing to replace them in the division. Stoke City, in the Championship, has been cited as an example of an EFL club whose owners are wealthier than some Premier League counterparts — a detail that complicates the idea of a simple rich-poor transfer BBC Sport.

The Premier League, for its part, points to its existing contributions, which it says cover all EFL clubs, National League clubs, and women's and girls' football Premier League. It has also committed to investing £1.6 billion across Premier League, EFL, and National League clubs to deliver community programmes Premier League. In 2015, top-flight clubs voted unanimously to advance £125 million to the EFL and National League to support clubs in difficulty Premier League.

What makes this moment different is the third chair at the table. For the first time, the Premier League and the EFL are not negotiating in a room by themselves. The Independent Football Regulator — a body that did not exist when this argument began — is now part of the process, and the government's standing threat of an imposed settlement looms over every discussion.

For fans, the stakes are straightforward. Lower-league clubs survive on crowds of a few thousand and the goodwill of local owners. A guaranteed share of Premier League money, locked into a multi-year deal, would mean less anxiety about insolvency and more certainty about what comes next. That matters whether you support a team pushing for the Champions League or one fighting to stay in the Football League altogether.

The EFL has not committed to anything yet. Its clubs will want to see the numbers, weigh the conditions, and decide whether the deal serves them or simply settles the argument on the Premier League's terms.