Several redactions in the English Football League’s (EFL) regulatory framework have been ruled in favour by the league’s clubs at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
A number of changes have been introduced to the Owners and Directors’ Test (OADT) to ensure that the EFL’s disqualifying conditions remain on par with those of the Premier League.
Some of these updates include disqualifications for insolvency, disqualification for sanctions, convictions for violent offences and any kind of fraud, among others.
The OADT now also treats any entity or individual currently being investigated for matters that could lead to a disqualification, as a subject to these disqualification conditions until the allegations are cleared.
Details have also been amended around all EFL matchball rules for the 2023/24 season, with pitch staff now required to place balls on cones around the playing field so that the time of the ball-in-play increases. Using towels or other items obtained from spectators to dry footballs is also no longer permitted.
Another change now requires all EFL clubs to notify the league in any case they’re ‘considering, taking, or suffering’ any insolvency action. This is to ensure that the club’s obligations towards the league can be fulfilled during this insolvency period.
Financial agreements have been altered too, with League One and League Two teams now obliged to submit their Future Financial Information by 30 April rather than 31 March.
To read the EFL’s full statement on the changes, you can go to their website here.
