Mawhinney: English football heading for salary caps
Reuters - Monday 15 March 2010, 00:01
LONDON - English football clubs must be
prepared for salary capping, former Football League chairman
Brian Mawhinney warned on Monday.
The 60-year-old, who was succeeded after seven years by
businessman Greg Clarke on Friday, believes that the current
financial model at league clubs outside of the Premier League is
not sustainable.
"The business model of professional football in this country
doesn't work, it's broke and you see that reflected in the
administrations and all the rest of it," Mawhinney said.
Speaking to the BBC, Mawhinney said a salary cap throughout
the Football League from Championship to
League Two would halt spiralling debts.
"I have some clubs in the Football League who are paying up
to 85 percent of their income in wages. I don't care how great
you are, you may be the best business entrepreneur the country
has ever come up with but you cannot run a sustainable business
with that sort of model."
An increasing number of league clubs have fallen into
administration in recent years, while many are laden with
mounting debts.
Last week Championship side Cardiff City were given 56 days
to pay off arrears of around 1.9 million pounds,
and the problem is creeping into the Premier League with
Portsmouth in administration with debts of around 78 million.
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