English Premier League clubs pledge to pay staff living wage

English Premier League clubs have agreed to pay their full-time staff at least the Living Wage from the start of the 2015/16 football season.

It follows pressure on the 20 top-flight clubs following the signing of a recent television rights deal worth 7.8 billion U.S. dollars over four years.

The new wage deal will guarantee directly employed staff a minimum hourly rate of 7 pounds and 85 pence (11.2 dollars), or 9 pounds and 10 pence (13.6 dollars) for London-based clubs.

Currently clubs are not legally obliged to pay more than the government-imposed minimum rate of 6 pounds and 50 pence per hour (9.7dollars).

Even with the slightly better Living Wage, it would take a club employee 1,000 years to earn what top earner Wayne Rooney collects every year from Manchester United, a reported 23 million dollars. That equates to 448,000 dollars a week compared to the 300 pounds (448 dollars) average pay a club worker would collect each week with a Living Wage salary.

Chelsea became the first club this year to announce it would introduce the London Living Wage of 9 pounds and 15 pence for its employees, with Merseyside club Everton the latest to commit to paying the living wage, joining its close neighbor Liverpool FC.

This week members of various fan clubs from around England staged a protest outside a London hotel where the Premier League was holding a meeting.

The league announced that almost 1.5 billion dollars from its television windfall would be shared around England, funding grassroots football and payments to lower league clubs.

The fans are demanding the league goes even further by lowering the price of admission tickets for away games.

The Football Supporters' Federation said in a statement: "The announcement of the increased funding streams is a welcome one and we are particularly pleased with the new funds aimed at match-going supporters.

"We look forward to continued dialogue between fans, clubs and the Premier League as to how this money is spent."

But Football Supporters' Federation, backed by fan groups from every Premier League club, believe the top flight can accommodate an initiative to limit away fans tickets at 30 dollars.

FSF chief executive Keith Miles said: "Our 'Twenty's Plenty' idea we believe would cost the clubs around 20 million pounds a season (30 million dollars), which one million pounds (1.5 million dollars) per club.

"Then talk to the fans about how they want that money used, it could make a huge difference to the experience of away support." Endit