A clutch of Football League clubs, including Championship side Luton, are calling for changes to make the sport more sustainable below the Premier League.
Ten teams - Luton, Accrington, Wimbledon, Cambridge, Lincoln, Bristol Rovers, Carlisle, Leyton Orient, Newport and Tranmere - have called for a series of changes to be implemented under the banner of the 'Fair Game' movement.
The most eye-catching is the request to abolish parachute payments.
They have also requested an independent regulator with powers to oversee the men's and women's game and want salary caps re-introduced. It comes at a time when clubs are struggling to cope financially after the pandemic wreaked havoc on their incomes, with stadiums virtually empty for the past 16 months.
"We need transparency. We need to incentivise good clubs," said one of Fair Game's ambassadors, the ex-England and Liverpool defender John Scales.
"Let's redistribute the parachute payments and give it to the clubs that are run well.
"Let's bring in a system that protects a club's crown jewels - the badge, the name, the nickname, the colours, its location. We want our clubs to be there for the long haul."
The drive also comes after long-standing EFL clubs Bury and Macclesfield both folded in the past two years due to financial problems.
Among the other suggestions made by the group was a three-year grace period for clubs to replace their 3G pitches, or for them to be permitted in Leagues One and Two.
That would have especially proved helpful for two clubs recently promoted into the EFL.
Last year Harrogate Town had to rip up their 3G pitch and given the quick turnaround between the two campaigns they had to ground-share with Doncaster. This summer, National League winners Sutton United faced a £500,000 bill for replacing their pitch to get it up to EFL standards.
Fair Game also say that parachute payments are "not fit for purpose".
Meanwhile, their request to introduce salary caps comes after the idea was quickly scrapped for teams in Leagues One and Two.
A cap was brought into force in August 2020 but was withdrawn in February this year after the PFA successfully argued it was “unlawful and unenforceable”.
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