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Those behind Project Big Picture have threatened to start a breakaway league of the Premier League’s “big six” clubs if the proposed seismic changes to the game are not supported.
The revelation will only intensify discussions between Premier League member clubs, bitterly divided when meeting for the first time since news of the reform attempt stunned English football.
Executives from all 20 parties will hold a video conference today to discuss their thoughts, feelings and fears about the plan, which would be the biggest shakeup of the game in a generation.
Liverpool, Premier League champions, are among the clubs of the ‘big six’
FA President Greg Clarke was involved in initial talks about Project Big Picture, but withdrew after he said the main goal of the proposals “became the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few clubs. “.
Clarke said a breakaway league was raised as a possible threat to gain support for the plans, which have been pushed by Manchester United and Liverpool, along with soccer league president Rick Parry.
Project Big Picture proposals would put even more power in the hands of the biggest clubs. The nine clubs with the longest continuous tenure in the Premier League would receive special status and only six votes would be required to make major changes to the rules and regulations, including the removal of a chief executive officer.
It would also see England’s top flight reduced from 20 teams to 18 and the dismantling of the League Cup and Community Shield.
Project Big Picture would need to be endorsed by 14 or more Premier League clubs to be approved if voted in its current form.
It is highly unlikely that it will receive that level of support as most clubs outside of the big six (Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea) see it as a power grab that would leave them with significantly reduced influence on how the league is run.
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Instead, Project Big Picture is likely to be the starting point for the discussion. One of the most striking proposals is the immediate delivery of £ 250 million to Football League clubs as a form of rescue from the COVID pandemic and 25% of future Premier League revenue.
These promises have seen the plan endorsed by a significant majority of the Football League’s 72 clubs, many of whom are desperate for immediate cash as they struggle to survive the financial crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic.
