Phil Alexander discusses key issues on Price of Football podcast

Phil Alexander sat down with Kieran Maguire and Kevin Day of the Price of Football podcast to discuss a number of key issues facing National League clubs.

The National League CEO spoke about everything from 3UP and DAZN to financial regulation and the artificial pitches.

On 3UP…

“The big picture, of course, is that our pyramid is the envy of the world in terms of what we've got in this country. The football goes so deep into our culture, but so deep in terms of professionalism as well.

“However, there is a logjam between League Two and the National League, where it's only two clubs. That really dampens the ambition of owners in National League clubs because you've got less chance of going up. And the reality is that the way that the National League has developed, the professionalism within the League, the professionalism within the clubs, it's outstripped the regulations. So you've got these outdated regulations which need to be changed.

“We've made a lot of progress over the past year with the EFL and I have regular meetings with Trevor Birch, and he understands the issue. They actually put it to their clubs in the March meeting of the EFL clubs, but it wasn't voted on - it was discussed, and I think there has been a lot of progress made in those meetings. Now we've got to crank up the campaign and get it voted for next year.”

On the Independent Football Regulator (IFR)…

“The IFR has wrapped its arms around the National League. We are included.

“The central theme of the IFR's work is the financial redistribution, and that's the one thing the EFL throw at us - that until it's sorted out, they can't even look at 3UP. It's completely unrelated of course, but they use it as an opportunity to get back to the table.

“My understanding is that following the summer meeting with the Premier League, Richard Masters has now got a mandate to talk to the EFL about financial redistribution and start those discussions. Finally, it feels as though there's a bit of momentum. Part of that discussion will be not just how much money flows down the pyramid, but how it flows down practically. The IFR have got backstop powers, but they've made it very clear they want football to make its own decisions rather than employ those powers.

“I'm hopeful we'll come out of it with a better structure and more money flowing down the pyramid for the improvement of all clubs. We've got a huge amount of acquisitions going on at National League level so it's right that governance has stepped up, and the fact that we are part of the IFR is a good thing.”

On Salary Cap Management Protocols (SCMP)…

“SCMP was something the EFL threw at us about 12 months ago as a reason not to do 3UP - they cited the National League as the wild west of the financial world, which of course it wasn't and isn't. As part of our response, we adopted the SCMP of League Two at that time.

“What we asked clubs to do was understand that if they are promoted, they have to do this anyway as an EFL club, so why not embrace it now? To make it a little easier for National division clubs, we decided not to put sanctions in place if they did breach the SCMP regulations, but it got people into the right frame of mind around controlling salary costs.

“It's been a really good thing. We monitor it on a regular basis, and we're getting clubs and their financial directors into the habit of delivering financial information to the League regularly. We're just preparing our clubs for what life could be like in the EFL and we're trying to demystify the challenge the EFL have got, that there's no governance within the National League around finances.”

On title sponsors Enterprise…

“The Vanarama deal was a great sponsorship and worked really well at the time, but they decided not to continue so we were thrilled to sign up with Enterprise. It was done just before I joined so I can't claim any credit for it but it's a great deal. Enterprise are a superb company to work with, and they do lots of activation in and around football.”

On broadcast partners DAZN…

“We’re two years into – about to go into the third year– of a seven-year deal. We've worked closely with DAZN over the last six months so both of us can understand our respective worlds, and we're looking to get that into a far better commercial position going forward.

“Live games equal more subscribers. It's quite a simple calculation.

“We have arrived at more games for next season, but they will be on standard Saturday kick-off times of 12.30pm and 5.30pm. There will be more games shown on DAZN, but from the clubs' perspective, it won't impact on their normal weekends.”

On artificial pitches…

“It's a bit like the 3UP issue, really. The decision is with the EFL. The technology has improved drastically. They play European games on these pitches in UEFA competitions, so why shouldn't we do it in our country?

“We've seen recently with Bromley and Sutton United that they've had to rip their pitches up. That’s a huge investment that's gone down the drain effectively. I think there needs to be some discussions around that. It's in the gift of the EFL, not necessarily ours.”

On the National League’s relationship with the Premier League and EFL…

“We've got a great relationship with the EFL but equally with the Premier League, and the Premier League are brilliant with us in terms of finances. Half of our finances in the National League come from the Premier League each year in various forms so it really shows how important this level of the game is to them.

“The latest addition is the National League Cup, now going into its third season, where PL2 clubs play against National League clubs. The Premier League put in £1m each year and all of that revenue goes to National League clubs, distributed on the basis of performance.

“That's on top of the solidarity money, and in addition to the money the Premier League and PFA put into the National League Trust, which is distributed to the foundations of all National League clubs. The Premier League are hugely important to the National League.”

You can listen to the full Price of Football interview below.