Premier League clubs voted unanimously on 30 July 2026 to share an extra £1.5bn with EFL clubs over the next decade — the first time they have officially agreed to give more money to the rest of the football pyramid since the question was first asked five years ago (The Guardian).

The proposal, branded a "new deal for football," will now go to the EFL's board for consideration. The £1.5bn sits on top of the £1.6bn the Premier League already distributes to clubs and communities every three years. The EFL has not yet officially received the offer but described discussions as "constructive" and said its board would review the full detail (The Guardian).

In plain terms: the 20 richest clubs in English football have agreed to send more money down the ladder to the 72 clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two — the three professional divisions below the Premier League. That ladder, known collectively as the football pyramid, is the structure that connects Sunday-league hopefuls to the top flight, with promotion and relegation running through every tier.

The deal includes two targeted funds. A "lifeboat" pot is earmarked for EFL clubs in immediate financial crisis. A separate fund is directed exclusively at infrastructure — training grounds, stadiums and community facilities that have often been left to age beyond their useful life.

To pay for it, Premier League clubs agreed to raise the transfer levy — a tax applied to every top-flight signing, with the revenue pooled for redistribution — from 4% to 6%. Manchester City had initially opposed that increase, as reported by the Guardian on 29 July 2026, but the final vote was unanimous. A Premier League statement confirmed clubs had "unanimously voted to approve a funded proposal for a new strategic partnership with the EFL" (The Guardian).

What gives this vote a different flavour from past promises is the presence of the Independent Football Regulator, a body created in 2025 and driven in part by the belief that Premier League riches could be shared more effectively across the game. The regulator holds a backstop power: if the two sides cannot agree a deal, it can impose one. In February 2024, the British government explicitly warned Premier League clubs that a regulator could force a settlement if they failed to reach one themselves (Reuters).

Sources indicated the EFL sees the current proposal as very similar to one mooted in 2023 that was ultimately never approved by Premier League clubs (The Guardian). The difference this time is that the vote has actually happened — and the regulator is now watching.

For fans of lower-league clubs, the stakes are tangible. Every season brings stories of teams entering administration — a formal insolvency process that can mean points deductions, redundancies and, in the worst cases, the threat of extinction. A lifeboat fund does not fix every problem in the pyramid, but it puts a floor under the worst-case scenarios. The infrastructure money could reach the training pitches and turnstiles that supporters see every week.

The EFL board still has to review the full proposal and vote on whether to accept it. Until then, the deal is agreed in principle at the top, but not yet rubber-stamped below.