Labour plan “tough” action on Premier League to fund grassroots sport

Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford has today announced plans to take “tough” action on England’s biggest football clubs to ensure that 5% of  of lucrative Premier League TV rights deals are invested in grassroots sport.

That could mean another £400 million for local, grassroots sports clubs and facilities over the next Parliament. The Premier League currently spends £168 million on community programmes and facilities, yet it received £5 billion from TV rights in 2013 -16. And the sums involved in the TV rights deals are only increasing.

A Labour government would force the Premier League to deliver on its commitment to 5% grassroots investment – including through legislation if necessary. Here’s what Efford had to say about the policy:

“The Premier League promised to invest five per cent of its television rights into grassroots sport. If the Tory Government had made sure they kept to this promise the Premier League would have invested £423 million in grassroots sport during the last five years.

 “We will get tough and under Labour’s better plan we will make sure the Premier league lives up to its commitment to invest in the grassroots. This will have a profoundly positive impact on football and many other sports.”

The Premier League clubs may not like this proposal – like Labour’s previous announcement on fan ownership -but perhaps there’s a lesson from the recent past. Premier League clubs also weren’t keen on paying the Living Wage to their staff – but quickly bowed to pressure to do so.