Coventry City have endured a difficult start to life in the Premier League, but they, and the rest of their rivals, are about to be hit with a large bill

Coventry City and the rest of the Premier League are bracing themselves for a large bill to pay for the Independent Football Regulator.

Initially, former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government believed the IFR would only cost around £10m. However, it's understood the independent body will soon publish proposals detailing a more hefty cost that's closer to £20m.

Premier League clubs, including Coventry, will be entrusted with stumping up the bulk of the bill, while EFL clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two will pay smaller fees. At present, it's uncertain if National League clubs will also need to contribute any funds.

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Sky News understands the annual bill is estimated to be around £20m, a 50% increase from original expectations. It's also believed the larger bill was in line with recent predictions from those within the game.

It's currently unclear as to how much money each club will have to pay for the establishment of the regulator. Those costs were put together by the government, with the intention of those within football to pay for it after.

The IFR is playing a mediating role when it comes to the discussions between the Premier League and the EFL over solidarity payments, which are designed to circulate money through the football pyramid.

A deal is yet to have been agreed, months after the Premier League proposed a ten-year-long agreement which would be worth around £1.5billion. In addition, the IFR may also play a role in the saga around Manchester City's charges.

He added: “We have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe that they run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety."

When asked about his views on the saga, he added: "I am not going to get pushed into making any judgment on this until we’ve seen all of those questions being answered. Then we will have to decide whether we’re going to mount our own investigation and come to a conclusion on that and what we’re going to do. And pre-empting that would be a colossal mistake.”

Coventry recently won their first two matches of the campaign since returning to the Premier League for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign. They overcame Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground and beat Newcastle United 4-1 at home, before losing 3-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur.

This weekend, Frank Lampard's side take on Fulham at the Coventry Building Society Arena in what looks set to be a vital match for both teams.

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