Six Premier League Clubs Will Pay £22m Over Breakaway

The six English football clubs that backed the European Super League will pay a combined £22 million (US$31 million) as they seek to move on from their role in the breakaway competition that provoked a fierce backlash, reported the Financial Times.

The “gesture of goodwill” follows similar sanctions by Uefa, the governing body for European football, with the game’s authorities keen to ensure that deterrents are in place to prevent future breakaway projects. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur will share the collective cost, which is a fraction of their combined £2.6 billion (US$3.67 billion) revenues for the 2019/20 season. 

The money will fund grassroots football and community programs. The six have agreed to rule changes that mean any future attempts to launch new competitions will be punished with points deductions and fines. Any one club would be docked 30 points and fined an additional £25 million (US$35.27 million).

The Premier League, the world’s most lucrative domestic football competition, and the Football Association, the game’s governing body in England, announced the payment on Wednesday, June 9, adding that the six clubs had once again acknowledged their “mistake.”

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