Brown enters TV cash debate

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Vice Chairman Keith Brown has joined the growing media debate for a fairer distribution of football's TV riches.

Brown, who is also Chief Executive at Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division Matlock Town, hit the airwaves of BBC Radio Derby on Thursday following fresh calls by MPs in the House of Commons for the Premier League to ensure a slice of future television rights deals worth billions of pounds is ring fenced for supporting Non-League football.

Drive time presenter Ian Skyes and his listeners heard Brown explain how the current grant system lacks funds to match modern demands and costs, leaving grassroots and Non-League clubs at Steps 3-4 in particular, often struggling to survive and falling further behind as the poor relations of football's top flight.

With more than 50 years in football behind him, the Evo-Stik NPL official was invited to share his views and argued that leagues and clubs, like the Football Association, need the Government to help solve a funding crisis that continues to see clubs facing extinction.

Brown said: "The key element is that the real money is in the Premier league and not in the Football Association. The Premier League, many, many years ago, used to agree a percentage of their television rights would come into to the FA for distribution at Non-League levels.

"If that percentage was coming through to us today then a very substantial level of funding would be coming into the FA which they could then distribute. Unfortunately, that level of support isn’t coming through and it is only the Government that can determine that in my opinion.

"Money does come through from the Premier League. I believe they put something like about six million a year into the Football Foundation which then allows clubs to apply for grants to improve their facilities but the levels of grants these days is very difficult.

"Whereas in the early days when the television money started off you could get a grant of up to 85 per cent, the maximum grant clubs at our level can get now is 50 per cent and that is £150,000. That is the same level it's been for almost 20 years. In today's market place you'd have to build a stand for £150,000 and how do you find the other 50 per cent?"