The Women’s Super League and Championship clubs approved a deal where the Premier League will extend a loan of £20 million to women’s football’s ‘NewCo’.

According to The Athletic, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters revealed to a government committee last month that the league’s clubs had agreed to provide a loan to NewCo, pending formal ratification.

The loan from the Premier League to NewCo is expected to be interest-free and will only become repayable once NewCo achieves an annual revenue of £100 million.

NewCo, an independent entity established to oversee professional women’s football, including the WSL and Championship in England, has been under the jurisdiction of the Football Association since the leagues assumed their current format in 2010. 

The Premier League, on the other hand, was established as a separate corporation from the FA at the start of the 1992-93 campaign to optimize revenue generation.

Nikki Doucet, appointed as NewCo’s chief executive in November, refrained from commenting last month on potential financial support from the Premier League. 

However, she emphasized that NewCo will operate as a self-sustaining, for-profit entity with a dedicated professional management team focused on the growth of women’s football.

Masters stated in January that discussions between the Premier League and the FA had been ongoing for years regarding the involvement of the Premier League in women’s football. 

He highlighted that Premier League clubs had agreed to provide financial support to NewCo and would also secure representation on its board. Additionally, the Premier League will offer various services to support the commercial development of the league.

“Recently, our clubs agreed that they would make a financial loan to the NewCo that is being set up at the top of the women’s game in the Premier League and have a seat on the board and provide a whole bunch of services to the game such as advice on how to commercially develop the league,” Masters added.

“I hope that is the start of something. It still has to be approved by the WSL board, but I hope that is the start of a relationship and the men’s game can help the women’s game in a whole raft of different areas,” he said.

The transition of the WSL and Championship under NewCo’s management is slated to commence at the start of the upcoming season. 

This decision, finalized in November, followed initial disagreements among WSL and Championship sides regarding NewCo’s proposals, which were subsequently resolved.