Nationwide clubs vote to impose salary cap

Football League clubs face cuts to wage levels and squad sizes after backing proposals yesterday for a salary cap in an attempt to arrest the financial crisis in the lower divisions.

The clubs came out in favour of a ruling that teams can only spend a set percentage – initially 60 per cent but eventually 50 per cent – of their annual turnover on players' wages. The self-imposed move, which must still be formally adopted, is seen as virtually the only way to ensure the survival of many clubs, and will make life harder for most lower league players.

Some 500 professionals were struggling to find a club this summer and that figure is set to increase markedly as clubs have to make major savings to fit within these intended budget restrictions. A move for a similar, albeit voluntary, system has already been made by members of the G14 group of élite European clubs, but they have also given their teams a couple of years in which to phase in the development.

Given the financial predicament in which several clubs find themselves after the collapse of the ITV Digital deal, the Football League plans are rather more urgent and could even come into effect at the start of next season. That is against a background of only a handful of clubs currently meeting the guideline percentage rate, with many others being hopelessly adrift of the intended level. In 2001-02 the percentage of total wages compared to turnover among First Division clubs was 101 per cent, meaning they were already making a loss before meeting any other costs.