National League: Is call for extra promotion place fair enough?

Reasons for any resistance from EFL clubs can be plainly seen when looking at the gulf in TV revenue between the two leagues.

League Two clubs receive money from the Premier League in the form of solidarity payments as well as 8% of the EFL’s TV contracts, which adds up to £1.4m-£1.5m per year, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

Clubs lose the solidarity payments when relegated and instead get two years of parachute payments from the EFL, totalling a loss of close to £1m, Maguire said.

Then there is the difference in regulations.

League Two clubs are able to spend up to 50% of their revenue on player-related costs, such as wages, whereas in the National League this is not strictly capped.

In Wrexham and Stockport County’s promotion-winning seasons, they operated at a loss of £4m and £5m respectively, Maguire said.

“Those losses would be very high by League Two standards. So I think if you are going to move to a three up, three down environment then there has to be some more continuity and consistency, in terms of the financial controls.

“The National League is seen as being a bit ‘Wild West’, there isn’t an owners and directors test. It is a concern that, in terms of governance, ethics and source of funds, there isn’t the same degree of scrutiny in the National League that you see in the EFL.”

Thompson said the National League has addressed some of these concerns by introducing the Salary Cap Management Protocol [SCMP] from next season to fall in line with clubs in Leagues One and Two.

The SCMP is part of the EFL’s financial fair play framework.