After more than a century under the English Football League system, established in 1888, the Premier League EFL split was completed in 1992, ushering in a new era for the sport.
What began as a move by the first division teams to gain greater commercial control has since evolved into a long-running divide between the top flight and the lower leagues.
The Football League – the historic name for close to 130 years until it became the EFL in 2016 – did not have the power to force its biggest clubs to stay, because it was a members’ association whose rules allowed clubs to resign.
It tried to persuade the first division to remain by offering them a larger share of the income, which delayed the separation but ultimately could not prevent it, especially with the FA backing the breakaway.
More than three decades later, the resentment has never entirely disappeared, with EFL funding remaining at the heart of a dispute that continues to raise questions about the future of English football.
Premier League EFL Split: How England’s Biggest Clubs Changed Football Forever
English football operated with four divisions under the Football League, made up of 92 clubs, with the first division sitting at the top of the structure.
This meant that the country’s biggest clubs belonged to the same organisation as teams competing in the lower divisions. The first division was where the country’s biggest clubs battled for the top prize, but they remained connected to the wider football league.
Throughout this period, the football league distributed television and sponsorship income, rather than top-division clubs controlling those revenues independently.
Although they received the largest share, clubs in the lower divisions also benefited from the money generated.
The system was far from perfect, but it reflected a simple principle: the success of English football’s top division could benefit the wider league structure.
However, the biggest clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton – wanted greater control over their finances, particularly the lucrative television and commercial revenues generated by their matches. This desire for greater autonomy eventually became the driving force behind the Premier League EFL split.
The Great Divide: How England’s Top Clubs Took Control
The argument behind the Premier League EFL separation was straightforward. The biggest clubs attracted the largest crowds, commanded the biggest television audiences and generated much of the interest that broadcasters wanted to buy. Consequently, they questioned why their television revenue should continue to be distributed through the wider football league.
This growing dissatisfaction became a catalyst for the split, with the big five pushing for greater commercial freedom and the other 17 first division clubs eventually following suit.
They were of the opinion that the top division needed to operate more like a modern commercial business, allowing its clubs to have greater control over broadcasting rights and keep a much larger share of the revenue they generated.
The clubs were ultimately able to break away from the Football League with the support of the Football Association (FA), which played an important role in making the separation possible.
The FA backed the creation of the Premier League partly because the breakaway offered an opportunity to weaken the Football League’s influence over the English game. For years, it had been one of the dominant administrative powers in the country, overseeing the top division as well as the three divisions below it.
By supporting a separate top division, the FA could regain some influence while helping create a new structure around the country’s biggest clubs. What began as a push for greater commercial control would therefore lead to the formation of the Premier League, fundamentally changing the balance of power within English football.
There was an irony in the FA’s support.
It helped create a league that would grow far richer and more powerful than anyone expected. The Premier League EFL separation was not simply a disagreement between clubs and the Football League; it represented a major shift in control over the money generated by English football.
The clubs wanted that control, the FA wanted to reduce the Football League’s influence, and broadcasters saw a valuable product. Together, those wants created the Premier League, and nobody involved could have predicted how big it would become.
And to show just how favourable the breakaway was to the new league, BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting, an old name for Sky in the UK) agreed to pay £304 million for the Premier League’s first five-year television deal when the new competition was still being put together. The size of the deal demonstrated that the Premier League EFL split had already helped transform television rights into a major commercial asset.
More importantly, the deal changed the relationship between football and television. Broadcasting was no longer simply another source of income for clubs; it was becoming one of the most important financial pillars of the game, laying the foundation for the Premier League’s future obsession with securing increasingly lucrative television deals.
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The Financial Chasm: How the Premier League Left the EFL Behind
The main goal was financial freedom, and the numbers reveal just how dramatically the decision has benefited Premier League clubs.
In the early years, the financial difference between the new Premier League and the Football League was noticeable, but it was nowhere near the enormous divide we see today. In 1993, the Premier League generated around £45 million in revenue, compared with roughly £35 million for the Football League.
The gap was there, but it was relatively small, as both leagues operated within the same football economy, with clubs in the lower divisions still able to benefit from the commercial growth of the English game.
However, more than three decades after the Premier League EFL separation, that modest gap has turned into a financial chasm. The top division has grown in leaps and bounds, transforming into one of the richest sports competitions in the world, with broadcasting, sponsorship and commercial revenues reaching billions of pounds.
Meanwhile, the EFL has not enjoyed anything close to that level of commercial growth.
Its clubs still depend heavily on central distributions, matchday income and their own commercial activities, while the Premier League continues to attract the biggest global audiences, sponsors and broadcasting contracts.
And this is where the resentment and feeling of abandonment come from.
Despite developing players, attracting supporters and providing the pathway into the country’s top division, EFL clubs have seen the financial rewards of English football’s growth become increasingly concentrated at the top. The Premier League has grown richer, allowing its clubs to spend more on players, facilities and recruitment. That spending, in turn, has helped improve the quality and global appeal of the competition, making its television rights even more valuable.
The cycle has continued, creating an increasingly powerful financial ecosystem at the top of English football, while the gap between the two leagues has continued to widen.
For the EFL, the problem is not simply that the Premier League makes more money. It is that the distance between the two has become so vast that promotion and relegation can mean the difference between operating in a billion-pound industry and fighting for survival on a fraction of those revenues.
That is the financial gulf at the heart of the strained relationship between both organisations and a major reason why the consequences of the Premier League EFL split continue to fuel resentment more than three decades later.
The growing disparity in revenue and resources has left the clubs in the lower division feeling increasingly disadvantaged, making EFL funding one of the most pressing issues in discussions about the future of English football.
EFL Funding: Why the Money Keeps Flowing and Why the Lower Leagues Want More
Since the 1992 breakaway, one might have assumed that little would remain to connect the two divisions. However, despite their separation, there are still several reasons why the Premier League cannot afford to overlook or turn its back on the EFL.
The importance of the lower division to the top flight extends far beyond the clubs competing in its divisions. One of its biggest contributions is player development.
The common practice for EPL clubs has been accustomed to for seasons past is to regularly send young players out on loan during the transfer window to EFL sides to gain first-team experience before returning to compete at the highest level. Reece James, Amad Diallo, Jack Grealish, Eberechi Eze and Ben White are among the players whose careers have included spells in the lower divisions of English football.
This arrangement benefits the traditional top six by giving its young talents valuable playing time while allowing them to develop outside the pressure of top-flight competition.
EFL clubs, meanwhile, provide the environment in which these players can gain experience and improve. The wider English football pyramid therefore plays an important role in preparing players for the demands of the Premier League.
However, player development is only part of the relationship between the two leagues.
The lower leagues also have some leverage through their shared place in English football.
Both competitions are connected through domestic cup tournaments, including the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, which bring clubs from different divisions together. More importantly, promotion and relegation ensure that the top flight remains connected to the rest of the football pyramid. Every season, clubs drop into the Championship while others earn promotion to the top flight.
The Premier League is not a closed competition. Its long-term strength depends, in part, on the existence of ambitious, competitive and financially sustainable clubs capable of earning promotion. If the lower leagues became too weak to support those clubs, the consequences could eventually extend back to the league itself.
There is also the financial relationship to consider. Since the Premier League EFL split, the top flight has provided funding to clubs further down the football pyramid through mechanisms such as solidarity payments and parachute payments.
Solidarity payments help support clubs outside the top flight, while parachute payments provide financial assistance to clubs following relegation from the Premier League. These arrangements have helped maintain a financial connection between the two sides, even as the gap between them has widened.
However, the debate over EFL funding centres on whether the existing arrangements provide enough support to keep clubs across the lower divisions financially sustainable.
Finally, there is the question of reputation. The Premier League markets itself as one of the world’s leading football competitions, but it remains part of a wider English football system built on clubs, communities and supporters across multiple divisions.
If the lower leagues were increasingly seen as struggling for survival while the top flight continued to generate enormous revenues, it could raise questions about the sustainability and fairness of the wider game, making the proposed changes particularly significant.
The proposal followed years of negotiations over what has become known as the “New Deal for Football.”
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The New Deal for Football: What the EFL Really Wants
Despite these financial contributions from the Premier League and the continued links between the two divisions, the dispute over redistribution remains unresolved.
The EFL’s frustration has not disappeared, and the battle over how much of English football’s growing wealth should flow down the pyramid has reached a critical point. Both sides continue to seek an agreement that could reshape their financial relationship and determine the future sustainability of the lower leagues.
The new deal for football is central to these discussions, with EFL funding remaining one of the main points of disagreement.
For years, the lower leagues have argued that the financial support flowing from the Premier League is insufficient to sustain clubs across the divisions. With broadcasting revenues continuing to grow at the top, they want a greater share of that wealth to help its 72 clubs remain financially competitive and sustainable.
In other words, the question of EFL funding is not simply about receiving more money; it is also about narrowing the financial gap that has developed since the Premier League breakaway.
The top flight, however, has maintained that it already makes substantial financial contributions to the wider game. In July 2026, all 20 clubs unanimously approved a new strategic partnership proposal intended to provide the lower divisions with more than £1.5 billion in additional funding over ten years.
The proposed deal would increase the domestic transfer levy from 4% to 6%, helping fund the additional payments. It also includes changes to parachute payments, which are paid to clubs following relegation from the Premier League, alongside measures intended to support financially distressed clubs and improve infrastructure.
However, the EFL believes the proposed arrangement does not go far enough to address the financial imbalance between the two leagues. In September 2026, it reportedly sought around £1.035 billion over five years, equivalent to approximately £207 million annually, highlighting the difference between what the two sides believe is necessary to secure the future of English football.
The challenge now is finding common ground between the Premier League’s proposed long-term funding package and the lower leagues’ demand for greater financial support over a shorter period.
And until both sides agree on the amount, structure and distribution of the money, the future of the new deal remains uncertain.
Extra Time Notes
From breaking away from the Football League to building a competition that has become one of the richest in world sport, the Premier League’s pursuit of financial freedom has transformed English football. However, the Premier League EFL split has also widened the financial divide between the top flight and the lower leagues, making EFL funding a central issue in the ongoing debate over the future of the English game.
An end to the long-running dispute could finally be in sight if both sides can agree on a funding deal that addresses the EFL’s concerns. The new deal for football could provide a way forward, but its success will depend on whether the proposed support meets the needs of clubs across the lower divisions.
If negotiations fail, the disagreement over how English football’s enormous wealth should be distributed could deepen, leaving the future of the wider football pyramid hanging in the balance.
More than three decades after the Premier League EFL separation, the question remains: should the top flight’s financial success benefit only the clubs at the top, or should more of that wealth be shared with the leagues that help sustain English football?
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