Fleetwood Town CEO rejects comparisons with other sectors

Fleetwood Town chief executive Steve Curwood has hit out at comparisons made between football and other industries as the battle for greater funding in the EFL rages on.

On the subject of the Premier League throwing a financial lifeline to EFL clubs, it has been argued that in no other industry would a business be expected to donate money to its competitors in order to keep them afloat.

Curwood believes such comparisons are “hideous” and “nonsense”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, the Town CEO said: “I’ve seen some of the well worn arguments of some of the people in the media, like ‘Why would Deliveroo support a cafe round the corner?’

“For me that’s just hideous. Deliveroo wouldn’t send their best young talent to a cafe round the corner to develop them and make them more robust, then take them back into their business to succeed. It’s utter nonsense.

“We all know the benefits of the pyramid. The pyramid has consistently delivered.

“I saw the England squad and some of those players have played at non-league level, let alone in the EFL pyramid.

“This is what underpins the Premier League and the strength of the Premier League and long may that continue, but it can’t continue if the expectation is solely on owners to prop up football clubs when the money is in the game already.”

Project Big Picture may have been rejected by the Premier League but funding for the EFL remains on the agenda.

Curwood believes change can happen quickly and uses the salary cap brought in over the summer as an example.

He said: “This really highlights the inequality of the revenue division across the leagues.

“We found, with salary caps that we were able to get that through in the space of a few months. This would be a far bigger reset but if the will, the intention and the vision is there, there is no reason why everyone can’t come to the table and get some compromise to this whole solution and make it happen.

“Something has to happen. This isn’t just about giving some investment into clubs now, while they need it. There will be ways and means that the EFL could support clubs, maybe through borrowing.

“It might in the short term be enough to keep clubs alive, but that effectively would run out at some point in time once the borrowing needs to be repaid. This is about a more long- term strategy.”