English football is facing a mounting financial crisis, with 94% of clubs across the top five divisions recording losses during the 2025-26 season, according to a major report from the Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
The watchdog’s State of the Game assessment reveals that more than 60% of English Football League and National League clubs are technically insolvent, while 66% depend on continued financial support from their owners to survive beyond three months. Nearly a third could collapse within 30 days without additional funding, and 68% have no backup arrangements should their owners withdraw support.
The report also identifies 17 clubs whose operating expenses would exceed their income even if players received no wages, highlighting the severity of financial mismanagement throughout the football pyramid. Despite the Premier League’s commercial success, growing economic disparities between divisions have left smaller clubs increasingly vulnerable.
IFR chairman David Kogan warned that 32 clubs have sufficient cash reserves for just one month, meaning a sudden withdrawal of owner funding could trigger immediate insolvency. The regulator is calling for urgent structural reforms to address escalating debt, unsustainable spending and excessive dependence on wealthy benefactors before the financial instability threatens the survival of more clubs.
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