Central funding for Championship (and League 1)

[The Phantom Horseman]

One of the frustrating things if you follow the Championship, or League 1, is the difficulty in finding out exactly what funding each club gets.

It's been like this for years, we kind of knew a few years ago in the Middle 8s era that there were some huge sums being handed out to teams that finished at the top of the Championship but it was really hard to pin down the exact figures for each finishing position because they were never published on any offical website and we were left to rely on piecemeal comments from journalists.

Fast forward to 2022/23 and I've picked up a couple of comments by Mick Gledhill about funding for the lower league clubs. I know most people's first reaction will be to roll their eyes at the source but that's precisely my point, why would we need to rely on the words of someone who may be hit-and-miss if the information were published by the RFL?

Anyway, at one point Gledhill was talking about the different amounts received by clubs based on the various"Return On Investment" criteria. As I understand it from things I've read written by journalists, there is still a sliding scale of payments based on finishing position, but with a much smaller difference between positions than used to be the case.

However, Gledhill has stated that the difference in payments based on crowds and data (social media engagements etc) is more significant than I would have guessed - he cited a range of £45k down to £6k for each of those two categories.

That's pretty significant, especially when some of those figures might be a bit nebulous and even possible to "game".

He has said on more than one occasion that Bradford topped the payouts for crowds (Widnes were second, apparently). I presume that's based on season ticket sales, as the actual attendances at Odsal last year were often pitiful - there was one game for instance where Bradford announced a crowd of 2,700 but photographic evidence from all parts of the ground strongly suggested the crowd fell well short of four figures.

So presumably it's based on season ticket sales, which isn't unusual (I think plenty of clubs include season tickets amongst the announced gates), but you wonder how that and all the other factors that have a direct impact on funding are monitored. 

But more importantly, why can't the figures just be published, telling us who received how much in each category? Instead we get speculative comments about how team A is much better funded than team B, but if we had the information published, there wouldn't be any need for speculating or hanging on for titbits from what may or may not be unreliable sources.

[gingerjon]

8 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

why can't the figures just be published, telling us who received how much in each category?

Is a very good question and the kind of thing I'd hope to see League Express pursuing rather than rehashing mid 2000s listicle clickbait articles.

[The Phantom Horseman]

57 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Is a very good question and the kind of thing I'd hope to see League Express pursuing rather than rehashing mid 2000s listicle clickbait articles.

haha, a better post than mine using about 1% of the words...but what can of worms have you opened?
"Iconic club comes out top in vital funding metrics...but where does YOUR club rank? This is sure to divide opinion!"

[Eddie]

Why do fans need to know how much funding clubs get? Serious question btw, I’d like to know too but there’s no need or obligation to tell us. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

4 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Why do fans need to know how much funding clubs get? Serious question btw, I’d like to know too but there’s no need or obligation to tell us. 

Because knowing what's at stake increases interest? One small example: Mick Gledhill made the point whilst commentating on Bradford's final game last  season against Widnes that whoever won would get 50k in funding rather than 40k (based on league position as they were level on points).

There's lots of things there is no need or obligation to tell us, but which might still stimulate interest. If crowds, social media interactions etc are important - and I'd agree that they are - I'd say the onus is on the RFL to tell us why those numbers need to be hidden, rather than for us to say why they should be published?

[gingerjon]

18 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Why do fans need to know how much funding clubs get? 

I can tell you down to the nearest pound how much every club at every level of the football pyramid receives in prize money in every FA competition.

When you're less transparent than the FA something has gone wrong.

[gingerjon]

5 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Because knowing what's at stake increases interest? One small example: Mick Gledhill made the point whilst commentating on Bradford's final game last  season against Widnes that whoever won would get 50k in funding rather than 40k (based on league position as they were level on points).

There's lots of things there is no need or obligation to tell us, but which might still stimulate interest. If crowds, social media interactions etc are important - and I'd agree that they are - I'd say the onus is on the RFL to tell us why those numbers need to be hidden, rather than for us to say why they should be published?

If, for example, 'reach' on Our League is a metric used to allocate funding but the numbers using Our League and the amount of funding given are hidden then, at best, that's a bit weird and, at worst, it's veering into territory that looks dodgy even if it isn't.

[Damien]

22 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Why do fans need to know how much funding clubs get? Serious question btw, I’d like to know too but there’s no need or obligation to tell us. 

Fans are a key stakeholder in the game and transparency is important. The RFL were very eager to be open and transparent when clubs were getting record amounts of funding.

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

Why do fans need to know how much funding clubs get? Serious question btw, I’d like to know too but there’s no need or obligation to tell us. 

It helps if clubs themselves know what they are going to get. I do know that last season, for example, clubs in the Championship didn't know what their figure was until just before the season commenced.

On the other hand in C1, where my club will plough it's furrow in 2023, I believe that all clubs receive pretty well the same tiny amount - around £25k.

Transparency is very important both for the fans and the sport's credibility.

[OriginalMrC]

Funding calculations are pretty complex particularly where the championship is concerned.

Championship funding ranges from approx £40k up to a potential £250k based on league positions and other factors.

League 1 funding is pretty paltry in comparison. Approx £15k up to £28k based on league positions and other factors. 

These figures may vary (and I don't know what it's likely to be this season). 

 

[gingerjon]

13 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

These figures may vary (and I don't know what it's likely to be this season). 

 

 

The season starts in a few weeks. Do clubs really not know?

[OriginalMrC]

29 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The season starts in a few weeks. Do clubs really not know?

I think the return on investment calculations are done at the end of each year ahead of the following season. I'm not completely familiar with the whole process but I'd imagine clubs have a ball park figure. 

[gingerjon]

14 hours ago, OriginalMrC said:

I think the return on investment calculations are done at the end of each year ahead of the following season. I'm not completely familiar with the whole process but I'd imagine clubs have a ball park figure. 

Thanks.

I had no idea the Championship gap was so wide or that so much was dependent on completely game-able criteria.

[Roughyed Rats]

16 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

It helps if clubs themselves know what they are going to get. I do know that last season, for example, clubs in the Championship didn't know what their figure was until just before the season commenced.

On the other hand in C1, where my club will plough it's furrow in 2023, I believe that all clubs receive pretty well the same tiny amount - around £25k.

Transparency is very important both for the fans and the sport's credibility.

There is also a range in League 1. Oldham received just £12,500 last season.

Edited January 12 by Roughyed Rats

[Blind side johnny]

On 11/01/2023 at 15:18, OriginalMrC said:

Funding calculations are pretty complex particularly where the championship is concerned.

Championship funding ranges from approx £40k up to a potential £250k based on league positions and other factors.

League 1 funding is pretty paltry in comparison. Approx £15k up to £28k based on league positions and other factors. 

These figures may vary (and I don't know what it's likely to be this season). 

 

 

Can you share this complexity or provide a link to the formula?

[Blind side johnny]

8 hours ago, Roughyed Rats said:

There is also a range in League 1. Oldham received just £12,500 last season.

OK, although last season was an anomaly, allegedly, with calculations hanging over from 2020 due to the Covid hiatus.

[Dave W]

They use this simple formula.

Edited January 12 by Dave W

[Fevrover]

21 minutes ago, Dave W said:

They use this simple formula.

Yeah simple lol.

[Midlands hobo]

50 minutes ago, Dave W said:

They use this simple formula.

Basically it is zero + whatever you need divided by two

[OriginalMrC]

2 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

Can you share this complexity or provide a link to the formula?

I don't have anything I can point you too but the distribution is calculated using a number of things like prize money, financials, attendances, governance, social media presence and other data. Its a sliding scale based on position for each area. Don't ask me how they capture the data or do the calculations though! 

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, OriginalMrC said:

I don't have anything I can point you too but the distribution is calculated using a number of things like prize money, financials, attendances, governance, social media presence and other data. Its a sliding scale based on position for each area. Don't ask me how they capture the data or do the calculations though! 

Yes, I think that was understood to be the process pre-covid. The calculations involved were completely thrown off by that pause in fixtures coupled with the reduced offer from Sky. As far as I am aware the formula became completely opaque after that and clubs didn't know where they stood on any of the criteria.

It wouldn't be beyond the wit of man to reveal what each club's funding for 2023 is though although those in charge of the clubs may not want it being made public. To be honest, do any of us who follow non-SL clubs have any clear idea of the state of the finances of our own clubs? All of them simply submit abbreviated accounts which reveal very little.

[OriginalMrC]

24 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

Yes, I think that was understood to be the process pre-covid. The calculations involved were completely thrown off by that pause in fixtures coupled with the reduced offer from Sky. As far as I am aware the formula became completely opaque after that and clubs didn't know where they stood on any of the criteria.

It wouldn't be beyond the wit of man to reveal what each club's funding for 2023 is though although those in charge of the clubs may not want it being made public. To be honest, do any of us who follow non-SL clubs have any clear idea of the state of the finances of our own clubs? All of them simply submit abbreviated accounts which reveal very little.

That's I think because most clubs rely on the goodwill of individual directors putting money in. Sadly, as you're probably aware, most clubs lose money especially since funding cuts. 

[Griff]

1 hour ago, OriginalMrC said:

That's I think because most clubs rely on the goodwill of individual directors putting money in. Sadly, as you're probably aware, most clubs lose money especially since funding cuts. 

Most Championship clubs made good profits during Covid.

[Blind side johnny]

21 hours ago, Griff said:

Most Championship clubs made good profits during Covid.

Not strictly true. Most of those who own their own grounds struggled badly.

[Griff]

1 hour ago, Blind side johnny said:

Not strictly true. Most of those who own their own grounds struggled badly.

Featherstone didn't.

And, of course, most clubs don't own their own ground.

Edited January 13 by Griff