Football's regulator publishes its State of the Game report. Here is what it means for communities.

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) published its draft State of the Game report on 13 October 2026. It is a long look at the finances of English football. It also lands on a question that matters to everyone in sport for good: who pays for the game at community level? The money In 2025/26 the Premier League paid £3.1bn to its own clubs. It also gave a further £130m to what the report calls the wider game. That £130m covered the Premier League Charitable Fund (£44m), the PFA (£25m), the Football Foundation (£24m) and the Premier League Stadium Fund (£12m). The £24m for the Football Foundation is just over 18% of the wider game total. That percentage is our own calculation, not a figure from the report. The need The Football Foundation estimates that growing demand for grassroots football will take £3.8bn of investment. The report says that means 2,720 more 3G pitches, 2,560 more changing rooms and upkeep of 20,000 grass pitches. This is a long-term estimate, not an annual cost. It shows the scale of the gap. The Foundation has put more than £1.3bn into grassroots football since 2000, across more than 75,800 grants. What clubs do for communities The report credits club charities with work on health, education, employability and community engagement. EFL club charities reached more than one million people across England and Wales in 2023/24. They spent £165m and generated £1.24bn in social value. Clubs under pressure The report is blunt about the finances behind all this. In 2025/26, 94% of clubs in the top five English leagues made a loss. Around two thirds of clubs said they could not last more than 90 days without fresh money from their owners. More than a quarter said they would not see out the month. Supporter groups were also lukewarm. Only 39% said they were satisfied with how fan views are considered in club decisions. What happens next The IFR says it would prefer football to agree its own new distribution deal. If it does not, the regulator says it will consider its next steps and use its powers. The Premier League and EFL are in talks now. The report is a draft. Comments are due to the IFR by 8 December 2026. Our view For Sport Local Action the point is simple. A £130m pot for the wider game is small next to £3.1bn for the clubs. A £24m share for the Football Foundation is small next to a £3.8bn need. Community work already delivers real social value. Any new deal should give it a bigger pot, a bigger share for grassroots and clear protection. Money at the top does not reach the community unless the deal sends it there. If you work in sport for good, read the report and respond before 8 December. Read the report: footballregulator.org.uk/state-of-the-game Source: Independent Football Regulator, State of the Game (draft), 13 October 2026. Figures from pp. 3-4, 44 and 137 and the report's fan engagement section.