Clubs in Leagues One and Two will be restricted in the amount of money put into the club from owners that can be spent on player wages and transfer fees from the 2025-26 season.

Under new rules sides will only be able to spend a proportion of any investment over £500,000.

Owners in League One putting £1m or more into a club will only be able to spend 60% on player-related expenditure while League Two sides will only be permitted to spend 50%.

The rules bring equity investment, where owners buy shares in a club, into line with the English Football League’s Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) – part of Financial Fair Play regulations to help control clubs’ financial losses.

Under the current SCMP rules, League One sides can spend 60% of turnover on wages and transfer fees and League Two sides 50%, but 100% of any equity investment.

Another change to the rules means that only 60%, in League One, and 50%, in League Two, of extra football income – such as prize money, cup earnings or transfer fees received – will be able to spent on player-related expenditure, whereas previously all of this money was able to be spent on the squad.

It means that should an owner of a League One side invest £100m in their club they could only spend just over £60m on players.

Owners can still spend an unlimited amount of money in non-player related costs such as infrastructure improvements or community projects.

It comes as more and more new owners have taken over EFL sides – most notably in League One with the high-profile takeovers of Birmingham City and Wrexham.

Blues spent a reported League One record fee of £15m on Fulham’s Jay Stansfield in the summer as their ownership group, which includes NFL legend Tom Brady, brought in 13 new players including Lyndon Dykes, Alfie May, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Tomoki Iwata.

Wrexham, with their Hollywood partnership of owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, have also invested millions to take the club from the National League to League One in consecutive seasons.

“In agreeing to the amendments, clubs recognise that decisions to invest have to address all areas of club operations, not just on field matters, and these rule changes will help ensure they can work to that objective,” an EFL statement read.

The changes do no affect sides in the Championship, who are bound by different financial rules restricting them to cumulative losses of £39m over a three-year period.

“Separately, clubs in the Championship are continuing their discussion in respect of potential changes to Financial Control rules for the division, with further updates expected in the early part of 2025,” the EFL added.