The Trust would like to thank Joe Ralls for his enormous contribution to Cardiff City, both on and off the field, over 15 fabulous years.
Fully committed to the cause whenever he played, Joe will always have a special place in the hearts of Bluebirds fans.
His more than 400 appearances for the club is special in the modern world of football when many players tend to move between clubs.
We wish Joe all the very best for whatever route he takes in his continuing football career and hope to see him back at the Cardiff City Stadium in the future.
Trust Chair Keith Morgan provides a note to members on financial restrictions in League One
At our AGM on 19 June 2025 I briefly mentioned the different EFL financial restrictions which our club will have to abide by in League 1. So I hope you find this more detailed note useful to understand how different it will be from the restrictions on Championship clubs which applied to us last season.
In the Championship club annual losses are restricted to an average of £13m a financial year (provided £8m of this is covered by non-refundable cash injections into the club by its owners) over a three year period.
Some adjustments are allowed to the reported loss figure by things like spending on youth and stadium development but this is the "base" figure.Any breach of these limits can lead to transfer embargos or points deductions.
In League 1 and League 2 these profitability restrictions don't apply. Instead the restriction is based on player wage costs under what is known as Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP). League 1 club total player wages costs must not exceed 60% of turnover (55% in League 2). There is no restriction on transfer fees paid, just on wages.
Compliance with the above rules is closely and regularly monitored by the EFL based on projections submitted by the club and if a club looks like it is heading for a breach, then a transfer embargo will be applied until a club becomes compliant again.
The definitions of turnover and player wages are important in the above calculation
1. Turnover would normally just include match day income, commercial sponsorship and TV revenue. It can also include profits from hospitality events as many clubs use their stadium facilities far more often than on match days.
2. However in League 1 turnover is also allowed to include cash injected by the club owner by way of new non-refundable share capital ( i.e not loans).So an owner can greatly increase the allowable limits of player wages by this method
3. Turnover also will include any profit on player sales, but only when the cash from those sales is actually received – many deals tend to be done on an instalment basis to ease cash flows
4. The wage cost for players loaned out in the season are excluded from the calculation for the period in which they are loaned out.
5. An exclusion from wage costs also applies to players on a professional contract who are under 21 at the start of a season who have come through the club`s youth development scheme and have been with the club for three years or more.
6. Cardiff City also have another potential favourable interim wage adjustment as a club that has just been relegated from the Championship. If a player was signed before September 2024 on a contract of over three years then their wage is also excluded. This exception is aimed at protecting relegated clubs from committed longer term contracts entered into before their relegation. I must be honest here and haven't checked to what extent this will benefit our club, if at all,
I hope this note is useful to understand where we stand as a club on this important issue for next season. Any questions, please raise through the usual Trust channels