At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) earlier today EFL Clubs approved changes to Regulations in respect of self-reporting of unpaid player salaries and the summer transfer window, alongside ratifying the League’s Annual Accounts.
Regulation 53 – Self-Reporting of Unpaid Player salary
A new requirement for Clubs to self-report instances of non-payment of player wages has been introduced to reflect the views of both the League and its Clubs that non-payment of salary obligations is a serious breach of Regulations.
With immediate effect Clubs must now notify the League within two working days of the due date if they have failed to meet their financial obligations to a player or players. Any Club in default of payments to players will, as is the case currently, be subject to an immediate registration embargo.
If a Club defaults on payments, it will be able to accept a sanction by way of an ‘Agreed Decision,’ which must be ratified by an Independent Chair in accordance with EFL Regulations. Alternatively, the Club can elect to have the matter determined by a full Independent Disciplinary Commission. New sanctioning guidelines have also been introduced, ranging from a suspended sporting sanction to multiple points deductions.
Today’s changes follow a comprehensive review by the League and its Clubs into instances of non-payment and will allow any alleged misconduct to be addressed in a timely manner without requiring prior notification of breaches from the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Regulation 42 - Summer Transfer Window
The EFL and its Clubs have agreed to open the summer domestic transfer window in line with the international transfer window.As a result, and subject to the day of the week, the domestic summer window will open 12 weeks prior to the closure of the registration window and not the day after a Club’s season concludes as has been the case in previous years. The EFL will confirm the opening date of the summer 2022 window in due course.
Annual Accounts
EFL Clubs have approved The Football League Limited Annual Report and consolidated financial statements for the period ending 31 July 2021. These will now be filed at Companies House in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.