Pressure from Premier League clubs over data deal will deepen tension with EFL | first division

Premier League clubs are pushing for a bigger share of football's increasingly lucrative data deal, in a move that is likely to further stoke tensions with the English Football League.

Under the terms of the existing contract, the Premier League and EFL receive an equal split of money through the collective sale of their data rights, generating around £35m a year for each league. The Scottish Professional soccer league receives a significantly smaller share of the revenue in a deal worth a few million pounds with clubs north of the border.

The Premier League and the EFL are equal shareholders in the company that manages the collection and sale of their data, Football DataCo.

The commercial value of the deal has historically been relatively small, but has grown significantly in recent years due to the huge increase in football betting volume, along with much greater use of data by broadcasters. A number of Premier League clubs are understood to argue that as they have been the main drivers of this growth, they should receive a larger share.

The financial distribution has previously been altered In favor of the Premier League, as before the data revolution, the main function of Football DataCo was to manage the distribution of results and match schedules. During this period the EFL received around 50% of the pot to reflect the fact that its competitions featured more matches.

Football DataCo agreed this year to a new four-year deal with Genius Sports as its official data provider in a deal that begins next season. Under the terms of the agreement, Genius will capture and distribute live data, such as expected goals and shots on goal, for more than 4,000 matches per season, which will then be sold to hundreds of betting companies and broadcasters around the world.

Several Premier League clubs are pushing for a bigger share of the profits when the new deal comes into effect next season. The Premier League has an obligation to explore such requests from its clubs, although any changes to distribution agreements would have to be agreed by the EFL and SPFL.

The Premier League declined to comment, but sources said all parties were happy with the current performance and future trajectory of the DataCo deal. The emergence of the DataCo matter comes at a time when The Premier League's relationship with the EFL is already strained. The biggest flaw is in their differences over the powers that should be granted to the new Independent football regulatorwith particular tension over whether parachute payments should fall within its purview.

Furthermore, long-standing negotiations over a new financial agreement between the two organisations, the “New Deal for Football”, have not yet been resolved.

Despite the wealth of its clubs, the Premier League's own central funds are under pressure due to the huge increase in their legal fees caused by the cost of profitability and sustainability standards (PSR) and associated party transactions (APT). ). cases brought against Manchester CityEverton and Nottingham Forest.

The Premier League's annual legal bill has risen almost tenfold to around £50m in the last two years. Getting more of the data would help offset some of this increase.

The Premier League's own cohesion is also being severely tested ahead of a club meeting on Friday to discuss possible changes to the competition's APT regulations. The Premier League wants clubs to vote on proposed amendments to the rules, but City have demanded the process be stopped and have received support from Aston Villa, who want the vote cancelled.

The Premier League will only hold a vote if it is confident of obtaining the two-thirds majority needed to introduce the new rules.