Regulator’s 'State of the Game' Report puts Community Football Funding under the Microscope

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has published a draft of its first State of the Game report, a detailed review of the finances and governance of English football’s top five tiers. It found that 94% of clubs from the Premier League to the National League made a loss in 2025/26. The draft also sets out how revenue moves through the pyramid, at a time when the Premier League and EFL are negotiating a new deal on sharing it out. Comments are due by 8 December 2026.

Though the report is mostly about the professional game, its findings on funding matter just as much to grassroots clubs and the community organisations working alongside them.

How the Money is Shared

In 2025/26 the Premier League shared £3.1 billion among its own clubs. A further £130 million went to the “wider game”, which works out at about 4p for every £1 kept at the top. Of that £130 million, £44 million went to the Premier League Charitable Fund, £25 million to the PFA and £24 million to the Football Foundation, the main funder of grassroots pitches and changing rooms. That is just over 18% of the “wider game” pot.

The Football Foundation and its partners have invested £2.8 billion since 2000. That has paid for 1,300 3G pitches, 15,250 grass pitch improvements and 1,700 changing pavilions. Demand is still growing faster than supply. The Foundation estimates another £3.8 billion is needed for 2,720 3G pitches, 2,560 changing rooms and upkeep for 20,000 grass pitches. With female participation up 42% to 3.3 million, that pressure is not going away.

Football's Social Value

The report also measures what football gives back. In 2023/24, EFL club charities reached more than a million people. They spent £165 million on charitable work and generated an estimated £1.24 billion in social value. The Premier League Charitable Fund supports 106 club charities with around £34 million a year. Their programmes cover health and wellbeing, education, employability and social cohesion.

That work runs on the same thing grassroots clubs run on: somewhere to play and people willing to give their time. 15% of fans said they would volunteer if their club ran into trouble, and 21% would join a supporters’ trust. Grassroots sport keeps people active, brings communities together and is where the next generation of players starts out.

No Agreed Figure

One of the IFR’s stated aims for reforming revenue sharing is to “maintain vital funding for the wider game.” The report doesn’t say how big that funding should be, or how much of it should reach grassroots facilities and community programmes.

The Premier League’s current proposal to the EFL would more than double solidarity payments (discussed in more detail in this article), set up a lifeboat fund for clubs facing liquidation, and ring-fence part of the new money for EFL infrastructure. As set out in the report, it includes no specific new protection for grassroots football or club foundations. If the two leagues can’t agree, the IFR can impose a settlement itself.

The wider findings explain why the regulator wants change. Two thirds of clubs said they could not last 90 days without fresh money from their owner, and more than 60% of EFL and National League clubs owe more than their assets are worth on paper. At least 20 clubs have faced financial distress since 2018/19. When a club gets into trouble, its community programmes, school partnerships and local jobs are at risk too.

Supporters will get more say in how clubs are run: from 2030, regulated clubs must consult fans on decisions that affect them and publish an annual report showing how they have done so.

The report covers 116 professional clubs. Its effects will reach the 18,000 grassroots clubs below them and the communities they serve. Whatever the new distribution deal looks like, it will decide how much reaches the pitches and programmes at the base of the game. The consultation closes on 8 December, so there’s still plenty of time for you to have your say on the state of the game.