MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Top Premier League teams are to be asked to pay a levy of nearly 2 million pounds ($2.65 million) each season to fund English soccer´s recently formed regulatory body.

The Independent Football Regulator, established by the British government last year to set governance standards in the English game, published Friday a proposal on how it plans to be funded to make the industry more sustainable.

It is proposing that the "highest-earning Premier League clubs" would contribute up to 1.8 million pounds ($2.4 million) - what it says is less than 0.25% of their total revenue - and that most top-flight teams will pay 600,000 pounds ($795,000) per season. Most second-tier Championship clubs would pay around 45,000 pounds ($60,000) per season, the IFR said.

It would cover a total required levy of 20.3 million pounds ($27 million), saying it is "significantly lower than other UK regulators and the reported administrative expenses of other football bodies such as the Premier League."

"We are confident," IFR chief executive Richard Monks said, "football will see this is a relatively modest investment to help achieve a more sustainable ecosystem which will provide peace of mind for fans, clubs and the communities they serve."

All regulated clubs in England´s top five divisions will be required to pay the levy, starting next season.

Last week, the IFR published its "State of the Game" report into English soccer, which stated that 94% of clubs throughout the pyramid are loss-making and more than a quarter of clubs would be unable to survive more than 30 days if owners pulled funding.

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