8 Dec 2009Championship clubs need salary cap, says Lord Mawhinney

Football Finance News | Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

Lord Mawhinney, the outgoing chairman of the Football League, has reiterated his belief that Championship clubs urgently require a salary cap.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said that the wage structures currently operated by the majority of teams in English football's second tier are "not sustainable".

The former Conservative Party chairman claimed that unmanageable debt is now "at the heart of the problem" for the English game, with clubs routinely spending far beyond their means.

"You cannot run a club where you are losing four, five, six million [pounds] a year. That's not sustainable," Mawhinney told the newspaper.

Having campaigned for a salary cap in the Football League for 18 months without success, the Northern Irishman is due to step down as chairman in March next year.

He took up the position in January 2003 and oversaw the rebranding of the league the following year, as well as introducing the fit and proper persons test for prospective club directors.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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