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MANCHESTER . – The English Premier League’s 20 soccer clubs meet today with the thorny issue of television rights cash distribution up for discussion as the big clubs seek more of the revenue from foreign deals.

The most commercially successful league in the world currently splits its TV revenues from international deals equally among all clubs.

Last season each club received around 39 million pounds from overseas television deals.

The plan, leaked to British media, foresees 35 percent of the foreign revenue being split according to league position – so-called merit payments.

A two-thirds majority, 14 clubs, would need to vote for any change and while the smaller ones have opted not to make their opposition public, one official noted that “Turkeys don’t usually vote for Christmas”.

The issue has been simmering for years and former Liverpool CEO Ian Ayre has led calls for clubs to be able to sell their foreign rights on an individual basis which would allow the big ones to cash in more on their global marketability.

That is not on the table today but the smaller clubs fear that ending equal payments could lead to greater inequality down the line.

Football finance expert Rob Wilson of Sheffield Hallam University believes the relatively equal distribution of revenue helps make the Premier League the most competitive in Europe.

“All the data we have on European leagues has the Premier League coming out top in terms of competitive balance. It is not an equal distribution system but it is a relatively equal one,” he told Reuters.

“It means the smaller clubs can invest in the transfer market and then can compete against the top six and put a good game on, there is a spectacle there and that is what the broadcasting companies pay for. If I am brutal the top clubs have forgotten about that,” he said.

The British revenue, from deals with Sky Sports and BT Sports, is not entirely distributed on equal basis. – Reuters.