Clubs in Leagues One and Two will have restrictions on the amount of money owners bring to the club and can spend on player wages and transfer fees from the 2025-26 season.
Under the new rules, parties will only be able to spend a proportion of any investment over £500,000.
League One owners investing £1 million or more in a club will only be able to spend 60% on player-related expenses, while League Two teams will only be able to spend 50%.
The rules align capital investment, where owners buy shares in a club, with the English Football League’s Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP), part of the Financial Fair Play regulations to help control financial losses of the clubs.
Under current SCMP rules, League One teams can spend 60% of turnover on wages and transfer fees and League Two teams 50%, but 100% of any capital investment.
Another rule change means that only 60% in League One and 50% in League Two of extra football income (such as prize money, cup winnings or transfers received) can be spent on expenses. related to the players. , whereas before all this money could be spent on the staff.
It means that if a League One team owner were to invest £100m in their club, they would only be able to spend just over £60m on players.
Owners can still spend an unlimited amount of money on non-player-related costs, such as infrastructure improvements or community projects.
