Thursday 6 November 2014 16:29, UK
Football League clubs have voted through changes to the Financial Fair Play regulations after a Thursday morning meeting at Derby County’s iPro Stadium.
The regulations will come into force at the start of the 2016/17 campaign and will see clubs have their financial performance monitored over three seasons rather than one, the same time frame as top-flight clubs.
The current maximum permitted loss of £8m per season has been increased to an aggregate of £39m over the three seasons before a club would face sanctions.
From the beginning of the 2016/17 season, Championship clubs will have their financial performance continuously monitored over a three season timeframe.
In the meantime, the existing Championship FFP framework will remain in place for the current season and next term, while any punishments due for breaching the rules for last season will still be imposed in December.
The new set of rules will in future be known as the 'Profitability and Sustainability' regulations.
A Football League statement read: "From the beginning of the 2016/17 season, Championship clubs will have their financial performance continuously monitored over a three season timeframe and will be permitted to lose up to £15m during that period without having to be prescriptive over how that loss will be funded.
"In addition, they will be permitted to lose more than £15m, but not more than an aggregate of £39m (compared to an equivalent figure of £105m in the Premier League) but will be subject to additional regulation when doing so.
"This will include providing evidence of Secure Owner Funding and Future Financial Information for the two seasons ahead."
There are no changes at present to the rules regarding parachute payments to clubs who drop out of the Premier League.
However, the 24 clubs have agreed to give the Football League board a mandate to go into discussions about the issue with the Premier League.
Proposals for clubs to be permitted to use artificial playing surfaces for matches in Sky Bet League 1 and Sky Bet League 2 from the beginning of the 2015/16 season were not approved following what the League described as an "unprecedented" tied vote.
Thirty-four clubs voted in favour of the proposals, with thirty-four against and four abstentions.
The Football League's Chief Executive Shaun Harvey, said: "This vote is reflective of the fact that this issue divides opinion amongst clubs as much as it does across the football public.
"While the outcome is different to previous indicative votes, it demonstrates that there is still a desire amongst clubs to find out more about artificial playing surfaces before taking such a significant step.”
