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A decision on whether to scrap the Premier League’s controversial profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and adopt an “alternative system” is “coming up”, says chief executive Richard Masters.

The current regulations, introduced in 2015-16 to prevent clubs from overspending, allow losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle.

However, they have been criticised by several top-flight teams for limiting their ability to invest.

BBC Sport has been told a decision on any changes is likely to be made at a meeting in November.

In February clubs chose to continue with PSR for the current season.

However a squad cost ratio (SCR) system of financial control was adopted by the Premier League on a shadowing, non-binding basis.

SCR is similar to Uefa’s existing financial rules and allows clubs to spend up to a percentage of their total revenues on squad-related costs.

Nine of the league’s 20 clubs already have to comply with Uefa’s SCR as a result of qualifying for Europe. Both Chelsea and Aston Villa were fined by Uefa in July for breaching the rules.

Asked about SCR at the Leaders sports conference in London, Masters said: “We are talking to our clubs about an alternative system. That’s not to say we don’t think the PSR system works.”

He added: “It’s about closer alignment with European regulation, which is squad cost ratio, which is a revenue test. In Uefa, it’s now set at 70%. Our system will be 85% because we always want our clubs to have the ability to invest.

Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points in the 2023-24 season for breaching PSR.

In 2023, Aston Villa’s co-owner Nassef Sawiris said the regulations “do not make sense” and protected the biggest clubs, while he was considering legal action against the rules.

Having been forced to offload players to comply with the regulations, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has also been critical of PSR, saying it incentivises clubs to sell academy products.

“The PSR is a look-back profitability test and has its own strengths and weaknesses. No system will be perfect,” said Masters.

“We have to keep these things balanced and continue the conversation with our clubs, and that’s an important decision, so we should take the time to get it right. But that decision is coming up.”

The Premier League is also trialling another model known as ‘top to bottom anchoring’ (TBA) which effectively caps the amount any club can spend as a multiple of the income earned by the league’s bottom side.

BBC Sport has been told the new rules – if adopted – could also include TBA, and would come into force at the start of next season.

A decision on whether to scrap the Premier League’s controversial profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and adopt an “alternative system” is “coming up”, says chief executive Richard Masters.

The current regulations, introduced in 2015-16 to prevent clubs from overspending, allow losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle.

However, they have been criticised by several top-flight teams for limiting their ability to invest.

BBC Sport has been told a decision on any changes is likely to be made at a meeting in November.

In February clubs chose to continue with PSR for the current season.

However a squad cost ratio (SCR) system of financial control was adopted by the Premier League on a shadowing, non-binding basis.

SCR is similar to Uefa’s existing financial rules and allows clubs to spend up to a percentage of their total revenues on squad-related costs.

Nine of the league’s 20 clubs already have to comply with Uefa’s SCR as a result of qualifying for Europe. Both Chelsea and Aston Villa were fined by Uefa in July for breaching the rules.

Asked about SCR at the Leaders sports conference in London, Masters said: “We are talking to our clubs about an alternative system. That’s not to say we don’t think the PSR system works.”

He added: “It’s about closer alignment with European regulation, which is squad cost ratio, which is a revenue test. In Uefa, it’s now set at 70%. Our system will be 85% because we always want our clubs to have the ability to invest.

Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points in the 2023-24 season for breaching PSR.

In 2023, Aston Villa’s co-owner Nassef Sawiris said the regulations “do not make sense” and protected the biggest clubs, while he was considering legal action against the rules.

Having been forced to offload players to comply with the regulations, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has also been critical of PSR, saying it incentivises clubs to sell academy products.

“The PSR is a look-back profitability test and has its own strengths and weaknesses. No system will be perfect,” said Masters.

“We have to keep these things balanced and continue the conversation with our clubs, and that’s an important decision, so we should take the time to get it right. But that decision is coming up.”

The Premier League is also trialling another model known as ‘top to bottom anchoring’ (TBA) which effectively caps the amount any club can spend as a multiple of the income earned by the league’s bottom side.

BBC Sport has been told the new rules – if adopted – could also include TBA, and would come into force at the start of next season.

Then four followed.

Super League braces itself for the play-off semi-finals with four teams remaining, all tussling for their spot in next week’s Grand Final at Old Trafford.

Following last week’s elimination matches, there was a controversy that dominated the agenda, with a try-that-shouldn’t-have-been-a-try and a row over ticketing.

What can we anticipate seeing when Leigh travels to Wigan Warriors on Friday and Hull KR’s meeting with St. Helens as a result of the team’s situation?

After finishing second and one place above the Leopards at the end of the regular season, Warriors travel to Leigh for their place in Friday’s all-Wigan borough derby play-off semi-final against Leigh.

Leigh won 0-1 in a stunning season opener in February, where Gareth O’Brien scored a golden-point drop-goal in a historically low-scoring game at the Brick Community Stadium, which could bookend either team’s season.

Leigh come into the game off the back of an impressive season and having comprehensively beaten Wakefield in their home eliminator last week.

Despite having a formidable recent record, including two successive Grand Final victories, Wigan boss Matt Peet claims he has no problem motivating his players to succeed.

He told BBC Radio Manchester, “I can’t manufacture that,” adding that “It’s on them, it’s the players.”

“They’re just a determined bunch and group of lads. This time of year, every coach will feel the same way. If every team didn’t arrive motivated and hungry, you’d be surprised.

Leigh’s one-point defeat at the start of the campaign caused another defeat for Wigan’s close-knit neighbors in July.

Liam Farrell, the captain of Cherry and Whites, claimed Wigan has benefited greatly from those two defeats, having also defeated them at home in a close encounter in May.

” The 1-0, we took a lot out of that game and I thought we were conservative in that game, “he told BBC Radio Manchester.

The fact that this is the first game of the year and likely not to overplay in the circumstances, is a major factor.

Leigh probably deserved it on the night because we needed to be better with the second one. We probably gave them a little bit too much field position in the back end of the second half and the penalties and errors cost us. We’ll leave out a few things from the game.

A ticketing problem has somewhat overshadowed Friday’s play-off, with Leigh reportedly telling Wigan they “do not intend to fulfill” the fixture.

Despite this, both sides have claimed they are preparing as normal for the tie.

Peet, on the other hand, is anticipating a close fight with their rivals and is aware of what this means.

He continued, “It’s always been a special fixture and it’s always had a rivalry that’s determined by the two teams’ geographic situation.”

Adrian Lam, the manager of Leigh, has won six games in a row, including last week’s Wakefield victory in the elimination game.

If they defeat Wigan in their own backyard, the Leopards will add their name to the exclusive list of teams that have reached Old Trafford.

Lam has enjoyed the 2025 campaign and told BBC Radio Manchester he is not ready for it to end.

I understand the steps involved, but what we see as an opportunity for this group to take this journey, he said, “I’m not ready to not be coaching next week.”

“It’s been nice to see us tick some boxes this year, as we have done every year, and the club’s progression to the top definitely shows that.”

” The more of these games we play, the better we’re going to be. It’s incredible to think that the Leigh Leopards will be 80 minutes away from Old Trafford twice in a row.

After earning promotion from the Championship in 2022, Lam has led Leigh to play-off campaigns in each of their three Super League seasons.

” We want to achieve things we’ve never done before as a club and winning our first home eliminator last week was one of those, having a home tie was one of those and we’ve got to do things we’ve never done to get what we deserve, “he added.

We are aware that we must perform better than we have all year. We are aware that beating Wigan at Wigan will require a lot of effort, and we are aware that not many people will give us a chance.

After falling to Salford Red Devils in a nail-biting “Million Pound Game,” Gareth O’Brien scored the team’s golden-point drop-goal, Hull KR was relegated from Super League a decade later.

Now, they are on the cusp of a historic treble, having already wrapped up the Challenge Cup and League Leaders ‘ Shield this term.

Willie Peters, the team’s manager, doesn’t anticipate St. Helens rolling over in Saturday’s semi-final despite their relative success.

The key to success in the semi-finals is to make sure we’re happy to win the game in the final second, according to Peters, who spoke to BBC Radio Humberside.

“When you’re playing in big games, it’s not about trying to win the game in the first 10 minutes, it’s not how semi-finals are aligned.

Similar to what we did in the Challenge Cup, “You’ve got to build games and be happy and prepared to win,” and that’s how we go about doing that for big games.

Peters disagrees on whether the honors for this season have lessened the pressure.

” That’s in the past, “he added”. We’re just concentrating on the weekend. That game is currently most crucial to us. We’ve achieved that and we’ll have the time to reflect on that at the right time after the season.

St. Helens travel to Hull KR having spent most of the latter stages of their play-off eliminator at Leeds Rhinos believing they would not reach the semi-finals.

After the hooter had sounded for full-time, Paul Wellens’ side kept the ball alive and fed it to Shane Wright after a whopping 16 passes for him to score the try that would have won them.

Wellens’ side, according to Wellens, is having a “dare to dream” when they travel to Craven Park after spending last week at Headingley.

“It’s given us a lot of belief going into this game, although we’re under no illusions over how tough the game is going to be”, he said.

“With and without the ball, Hull KR have consistently been the top team.”

It’s difficult to go anywhere and play because the environment is so hostile. We’ve got to view that very differently. Both our team and we are facing a great challenge.

“We’ve been boosted by a fantastic win in fantastic circumstances at the weekend, which gives us a lot of faith going into the game.”

St. Helens have received criticism for not being able to see out games against the leading teams this term, but Wellens points to last weekend’s game against Leeds and their regular season win against Rhinos in July, as examples of where they have overcome real quality.

He continued, “I believe there are a lot of opinions about us outside of this environment, but internally we don’t share the same feelings that people outside of that place do.”

I believe that going there after winning a play-off and returning there a few weeks later qualify as winning big games.

On Friday night, Wrexham host Birmingham City in the Championship (20:00 BST), and the world will be watching closely as the action unfolds at the Stok Cae Ras (20:00 BST).

After two eagerly awaited meetings last term, the pair were automatically promoted from League One and will now face off in North Wales this week.

The A-listers at the top of both clubs will ensure that those on the side of the pitch will have just as much of a spotlight as those on the field.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds quickly aimed jibes at Wrexham’s local rival Chester, who are currently in the National League North, four divisions below Wrexham, after their club acquisition was confirmed in 2021.

The Hollywood duo wrote “Always beat Chester*” on three occasions. in the statement of their organization.

The statement concluded with the phrase “*If we ever play Chester again” and included the crucial asterisk “… “.

Wrexham enjoyed powerful tussles with numerous sides, including Sheffield United, Stockport County, Notts County, and Stockport County, during their rapid ascendancy in the football pyramid.

Although the Stockport and Sheffield United games arguably involved more needle, or beef, than their football rivals, Notts County’s clashes were nothing short of majestic.

Birmingham appear to be in the middle, and last year’s first of two league games between the two teams attracted a lot of interest.

As the Blues defeated Phil Parkinson’s side 3-1 at St Andrews to claim the title of “the Hollywood derby,” England legends David Beckham and Gary Neville were present in the stands alongside Wrexham co-owner McElhenney and Birmingham co-owner Tom Brady.

Later in the season, the Red Dragons finally appeared to have the upper hand, but they were only able to draw 1-1.

However, both teams’ overall campaigns were very successful.

The ownership groups have a significant impact on raising the profile of both clubs, particularly in an era of high interest in America.

With their version of Built In Birmingham: Brady &amp, the Blues, which was released prior to the current campaign, Birmingham followed Wrexham’s lead in making a behind-the-scenes club documentary.

This is a more and more eye-catching addition thanks to the prominent cast members in these documentaries.

A video featuring Brady and Snoop Dogg, co-owners of Swansea City, and Snoop Dogg and McElhenney in August was well-known online.

The trio discussed their involvement with their respective EFL teams in a group video chat titled “Championship owners.”

In a scene from Brady’s sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Brady regaled McElhenney before the game against St. Andrews last year over the reference to the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

The Philadelphia-native’s surname is emblazoned on the back of the jersey, which Brady then gave to McElhenney, who was also wearing the number 12 during his glittering NFL career, along with the team’s home address.

The entire incident was prominently featured in the most recent season of the highly successful Welcome to Wrexham documentary, further demonstrating the clubs’ marketing prowess.

In his pre-game announcement from 12 months ago, Parkinson urged his players to engage in a “controlled tear-up,” with the 57-year-old using a lot of colorful language in his speech.

The Blues supporters, however, were the ones who made the most of Wrexham’s documentary-making cameras, with one fan saying “you’re not in the National League any more” and another saying “welcome to the real world.”

According to Reach journalist Brian Dick, who regularly covers the Blues, “It seems like both ownership groups have recognized the reciprocal commercial and social media benefits of riffing off each other.”

Birmingham and Wrexham reportedly bonded with the same players this summer, he said, adding that they were rubbing shoulders with each other both on and off the pitch as well.

Wrexham’s savvy media team used the release of the summer fixture as another way to poke fun at Birmingham by putting the meeting schedule forward for this year’s meetings.

It seems like all of this seems to be normal rivalry and banter, doesn’t it?

That is undoubtedly true for the big names connected to the two clubs. Make no mistake: Wrexham and Birmingham both have a ruthless desire to experience greater success.

Wagner claimed that the Blues’ goal is undoubtedly to reach the Premier League next year after earning promotion.

Reynolds and McElhenney claimed one of their goals was to “establish Wrexham AFC as a Premier League club” after taking control of Wrexham, which they later became in the fifth tier National League.

The Stok Cae Ras and St Andrews teams’ remarkable off-field efforts have greatly contributed to the pitch’s efforts.

Wrexham announced a record-setting £26.7 million turnover for the year that ended on June 30, 2024, while Birmingham posted a record-setting £29.6 million revenue for the same period. This was a record for a club that was in the third tier at the time, even though the year was Championship.

Both sides have had a lot of success from it, and there could be even more in the coming season.

Wrexham have improved recently after a somewhat sluggish start, winning notable away victories over Millwall and Norwich City while coming into the Birmingham game having only lost once in eight games across all competitions.

After his side lost to Leicester City, who played in the Premier League last season, at 1-1, Parkinson claimed his team was “definitely evolving as a team.”

The Blues have also shown that they can compete since returning to the second tier, having won 11 of their first eight league games.

However, for Wrexham midfielder Matty James, it will be business as usual when the kick-off occurs on Friday.

The owners are “superstars in their own right in various industries,” James, 34, said, “and I think naturally that brings a lot of media attention that can occasionally kind of detract from what is actually happening.”

Algeria have invited Luca Zidane, the son of France legend Zinedine, to their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Uganda in 2026.

The goalkeeper, who was born in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, played for France in various youth competitions before recently switching to Algeria as an international alligator.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper is one of three players selected for the 9 and 14-october matches in Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic’s 26-man squad.

Zidane, who is the second of four brothers who all graduated from Real Madrid Academy, currently plays for Granada in the second-tier of Spain.

He played for Madrid twice and has experience with La Liga at Rayo Vallecano, but he dropped to Eibar in 2022 before moving to Andalusian side Granada in 2024.

The Kabylie region of Algeria is where Zidane’s paternal grandparents are from.

Zinedine Zidane was famously sent off for a headbutt in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy in a penalty shootout, but scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup triumph over Brazil.