PFA to receive £23m per year in new Premier League contract
Last updated on .From the section Football
The Premier League has renewed its contract with the Professional Footballers' Association which will see the union receive around £23m per year to be spent on charitable causes and football development.
The deal, which lasts for three years, covers the period from 2019-22 and provides a timely boost for the union's under pressure chief executive Gordon Taylor.
Taylor has been the subject of criticism recently following renewed focus on his salary and a demand from the union's chairman Ben Purkiss for modernisation.
The PFA's trustees and management committee have since commissioned an independent QC lead review of the union's structure and governance.
Sources close to Taylor say he has been buoyed by the support he has received from senior figures in the game and is focused on showing that the PFA, under his leadership, is open to change and new ideas.
The PFA and the league pre-agree where the money received will go.
It is understood the bulk of the cash will be spent providing support for the union's 4000 members - including grants for members in financial difficulties, education support, equality and diversity training, joint research with the Football Association into a possible link between heading and dementia, a Prince's Trust Employment scheme and mental health support for players.
The Premier League said in a statement last month: "We work with the PFA to ensure these funds are spent appropriately."
This new deal is thought to be one of the last contracts to be signed by Richard Scudamore, the outgoing executive chairman of the Premier League.
