Clubs look at parachute payments

Clubs are looking at ways of offsetting the effect of increased parachute payments for relegated Premier League clubs.

It has been proposed that clubs relegated from the top flight will get £23m in the first year back in the Championship, then £18m, followed by two lots of £9m.

Championship clubs not eligible for parachute payments will get around £2.3m in solidarity payments, but some owners at the meeting admitted they could be forced to leave the league if they came up against other clubs whose parachute payments equalled more than their entire budget for the year.

Looking at a better, fairer system, one idea was to withhold a share of the Football League’s own distribution of television and sponsorship money from clubs receiving parachute payments, with £2.3m per Championship club then shared between the other clubs.

And another was that clubs could be subject to an NFL-style salary cap for the first time, negating the effect of parachute payments to an extent.

The worry is that the increased parachute payments, will undermine the Financial Fair Play rules voted in for Championship clubs last season, which start next term, which limits owner investment and operating losses, with penalties of heavy fine or transfer embargos.

• BURNLEY have two ticket offers in place for the home games against Bristol City and Cardiff City.

For the game against Bristol City on Saturday, April 6th (kick-off 3 p.m.), season ticket holders can purchase extra Under 16 tickets for £1 in all home areas.

Non-season ticket holders aged 16 or under can also obtain tickets for the game for £1 in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand lower tier, though Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult.

The game is a bronze category fixture.

For the game against league leaders Cardiff City at Turf Moor on Saturday, April 20th (kick-off 12-45 p.m.), season ticket holders can obtain extra tickets in all home areas, priced at £10 (adults) and £5 (Under 16s).

General sale tickets are available for £10 (adults) and £5 (Under 16s) in the Jimmy McIlroy Stand (lower tier).

The game is a silver category fixture.

• The Burnley Express has launched a FREE football app which is now available to download on iPhone and Android devices.