Norwich paid £155k to agents in six months

Paddy Davitt

Norwich City remain among the lowest Championship spenders on agents' fees after the Football League published its latest findings into payments outside the Premiership for the six months to December.

The league's latest audited report shows Norwich paid out £155,200 in the period July to December 2007. City's outlay on licensed agents was nearly an 80% increase on the figure for the same six-month window during the previous season - but still ranked the club only 15th in the Championship.

Leicester headed the list with £1,067,084 spent on agents - up from just £46,117 on the previous year. Blackpool were the only Championship club not to make any payments to agents. Championship clubs accounted for 84% of the total money spent in the entire Football League.

The 92 league clubs committed to pay agents £7.9m compared to £6.2m in the second half of 2006 - although the percentage of payments paid to agents fell as a proportion of total transfer fees.

Clubs spent £42.1m on player transfers compared to £27.1m 12 months earlier - a massive increase of 94%

Football league chairman Lord Mawhinney hailed the latest figures as another positive step in the right direction for the national game.

“I am encouraged that a more buoyant transfer market has been coupled with a more disciplined approach to clubs' dealings with agents,” he said. “Between July and December 2007 payments to agents, as a proportion of total transfer spending, fell to 19%, compared to 29% for the same period in 2006. This season's figure is also significantly lower than the 23% recorded in 2005 and the 63% recorded in 2004.

“Whilst £7.9m is still a lot of money leaving the game, it is clear that we are beginning to make progress in terms of establishing a fairer balance in the relationship between clubs, players and agents.”