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The English Championship promises Premier League riches but operates at staggering losses. Owners like Acun Ilicali keep clubs alive in a system that has generated €3.4 billion in deficits over the past decade.
The EFL Championship sells a dream. Promotion to the Premier League means television millions, global visibility and financial transformation. The reality behind that dream is brutal.
Over the last decade, second-tier English clubs have accumulated losses of €3.4 billion. The league is competitive, intense and globally followed, but financially it functions as a money-sucking machine.
Only two real profits
In the 2024/25 season, only three Championship clubs reported a profit. In practice, only two. Stoke City appear in the green because owner John Coates waived repayment of €103 million in debt. Without that decision, Stoke would have posted a €33 million loss.
Sheffield United stand as the only active second-division club currently making a genuine profit. The other profitable clubs, Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, were relegated.
Losses everywhere
Portsmouth, owned by Michael Eisner, lost “only” €5 million. Eisner warned openly: “In this system, no club can survive in the long term. If this continues, disaster will follow.”
The differences between clubs are huge. Millwall, competing for promotion with a modest budget, lost just €344,000. Coventry City, leading the table, lost nearly €25 million.
Hull City, owned by Turkish businessman Acun Ilicali, reported losses of almost €48 million last season. Swansea City, where Slovenian international Žan Vipotnik plays, recorded a deficit of nearly €25 million.
Bristol City, featuring Slovenian Tomi Horvat, offer a long-term example. Since billionaire Steve Lansdown took control in 2002, the club has not recorded a single profitable season. Over 24 years, cumulative losses reached €250 million.
A vicious cycle
Since the €184 million record loss in 2008/09, deficits have grown almost every year. Excluding the pandemic-hit 2019/20 season, when losses reached €517 million, the 2024/25 campaign is again approaching record territory.
The obsession with promotion fuels reckless spending. Clubs gamble on player wages, transfer fees, and infrastructure upgrades, hoping Premier League income will cover the risk.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football, explains: “It’s very expensive to get into the top flight, and very expensive to get out. Owners are subsidising clubs constantly.”
He adds a stark warning: “If owners collectively stopped funding losses, most clubs would run out of money within six weeks.”
The golden trap
The Championship is marketed as the gateway to football’s elite. In reality, it resembles a financial abyss. Owners pour millions into squads without a guarantee of return. The Premier League itself reports massive spending and regular losses, but its broadcast revenues mask structural fragility.
For now, investors such as Acun Iliçali continue to finance ambition. Players like Žan Vipotnik continue to shine in a fiercely competitive environment. Yet beneath the spectacle lies an unstable foundation.
If the financial bubble bursts, the Championship will likely feel it first. The so-called golden league may not be as secure as it appears.