FA to block Project Big Picture with ‘golden share’

ByEurosport

Updated 12/10/2020 at 13:04 GMT

The FA are set to block the Project Big Picture plan with its ‘golden share’, the Times are reporting. It comes a day after it was revealed that Manchester United and Liverpool were behind plans to reshape the structure and finances of English football.

John Henry

Image credit: Getty Images

The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Manchester United and Liverpool were the driving forces behind proposals – dubbed Project Big Picture – aimed at radically altering the fabric of English football and concentrating power in the hands of elite clubs.

The paper had gained access to a “Revitalisation” document laying out proposed changes including reducing the Premier League to 18 clubs, axing the League Cup and the Community Shield, and changing the promotion system.

However, the Times have added another layer to the story on Monday, reporting that the FA will block the move by using the ‘golden share’.

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The report, by Martyn Ziegler, Matt Lawton and Matt Dickinson, reads:

The FA leadership would block any attempt to effectively give all the power to the big clubs and further enrich them using the ‘golden share’ it received when the Premier League was established in 1992, which gives the governing body a key vote on significant decisions. That message has also been passed on to Premier League chiefs.

Furthermore, the report adds that an emergency meeting of the Premier League will convene on either Tuesday or Wednesday, when the plans will be discussed. However, two of the big six clubs are said to be lukewarm to the idea, with the Times adding that they are "at best neutral about the proposals". To get the go ahead, the plan would require 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs to vote for it and agreement from the FA.

What is Project Big Picture?

What precisely does ‘Project Big Picture’ entail, and what does it mean for the English national game?

All of these details are as revealed by the Telegraph in their report on Sunday.

League and cup structure

Reduction in the Premier League from 20 clubs to 18
24 teams in Championship, League One and League Two, so overall professional clubs drop from 92 to 90
Two teams automatically relegated from the top flight and two promoted from the Championship. Then the 16th-placed Premier League team and third, fourth and fifth in Championship to form play-off tournament for final spot
League Cup and Community Shield abolished

Finances

£250m given to EFL to “compensate clubs for lost revenue”
£100m given to the FA to help cover losses during coronavirus pandemic
8.5% of annual net Premier League revenue to help pay for “good causes”, including the FA
25% of what remains to go to EFL clubs, with parachute payments stopped
Away tickets capped at £20