EFL Championship consider introducing salary cap this winter

The English Football League’s Championship is considering introducing salary caps this winter in an attempt to rein in losses of about £1 million a month at every club.

Mark Ashton, the Bristol City chief executive and the EFL board director, describes in an article for Telegraph Sport how Covid-19 has “brutally exposed” the need for a financial reset across the pyramid.

With clubs edging closer to the cliff edge without match-day revenue, Ashton warned the Government a timetable for spectators to return “needs to happen today because there is no tomorrow”.

The EFL is in talks with the Premier League over a potential £250 million rescue package, but that figure – only for loss in ticketing revenue – will go nowhere near covering the overall losses facing clubs. “The foundations of the pyramid are in danger, and we need to protect them,” Ashton said.

Having spoken to other Championship owners and executives, Ashton said there was a “real chance” of salary caps being introduced following similar measures for League One and League Two. “Don’t be surprised if that appears in the Championship by the end of the season,” he said.

Ashton is among a host of executives across the tiers to criticise the Government’s decision to postpone the return of crowds for six months with no timetable for the return of pilots. “The decision to stop crowd pilots has slammed shut that little bit of light at the end of the tunnel and we desperately need the door reopened,” he said.

The delay could force the EFL to increase the current £250 million bail-out it wants from the Premier League, he suggested. “The longer we risk not bringing supporters back, the bigger that number becomes,” he says. “That rescue package is absolutely vital but clearly this is a short-term solution.”

Steve Kavanagh, chief executive of Millwall, described how his club had been losing £1 million a month since March. Ashton said that figure was borne out across the division.

“I’m speaking to Championship, League One, League Two owners, CEOs and chairmen, and the pain is clearly visible,” Ashton said.