Ninety-four percent of professional football clubs in England are operating at a financial loss, and one-third of teams in the English Football League and the National League are facing insolvency, according to a stark new report from the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) covered by Mundo Deportivo.
Independent Report Warns of Financial Collapse Across English Football
The IFR investigation warns that English football entities are now on the brink of financial disaster, citing an urgent need for regulatory reform to stabilize the sport. Researchers point to a dangerous mix of mounting debt and heavy reliance on owner funding as the primary drivers behind the crisis. Mundo Deportivo notes that clubs continually elevate player wages in a desperate bid to maintain sporting competitiveness, creating severe cash-flow strain across divisions.
Operating costs compound the salary burden significantly. Records show that 17 clubs across the EFL and the National League would register financial losses even if they did not pay a single pound in player wages. More than 60 percent of lower-league and non-league clubs are classified as technically insolvent. Furthermore, over a quarter of these teams lack the cash reserves to survive longer than a single month if their current owners were to withdraw funding.
Massive Revenue Disparities Fuel Risky Spending
The financial chasm separating the Premier League from the rest of the football pyramid continues to widen at an unsustainable pace. During the 2025–26 season, English football generated more than £9 billion in total revenue. Of that sum, the Premier League accounted for £7.500 billion, leaving £1.000 billion for the Championship, £460 million combined for League One and League Two, and just £70 million for the National League.
Historical data underscores the growing divide. In 1992, average revenue for a Premier League club was 2,7 times higher than that of a Championship club. Today, that multiple has surged to 8,7, meaning a top-flight club earns roughly eight times more on average than a second-tier counterpart. This immense gap drives lower-tier clubs to take extreme financial risks—such as overextending their budgets after relegation compensation ends—just to compete for promotion back to the lucrative top tier.
Rising Salaries and Escalating Debt Burdens
Player remuneration has climbed steeply across every division. Between the 2021–22 and 2025–26 campaigns, total club salary expenditures jumped 33 percent in the Premier League and 32 percent in the Championship. The increases proved even more aggressive further down the pyramid, rising 71 percent in League One and 63 percent in League Two.
Consequently, annual losses have multiplied. In the top flight, total losses rose from £20 million in 2021–22 to £44 million projected for 2025–26. Championship losses expanded from £13 million in 2024–25 to £22 million. In League One, losses tripled over five seasons from £2’4 million to £7’5 million, while League Two losses quadrupled from £0’6 million to £2’7 million.
Across the entire professional game, total debt climbed from £2.800 billion in the 2020–21 season to £4.100 billion by 2024–25, with projections pushing that figure to £5.100 billion for the current campaign. Premier League clubs account for approximately 75 percent of that total accumulated debt.
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