Split funding Lower league clubs can only dream of these figures.

It announced last spring that its 2010 budget would reach $64m, with a profit of $168,000.

Zenit St Petersburg, the 2010 Russian Premier League champion, has been rumoured to have a budget of up to $100m.

Split funding Lower league clubs can only dream of these figures. The modest funds they get to spend are usually set by the budget of a city, region or company.

Sometimes the money they have at their disposal is barely enough to survive, let alone allow for any investment in modernising their stadiums.

But there is another – hidden – problem in the new “autumn-to-spring” model.

Both government and company budgets are drawn up according to a calendar year starting on 1 January.

In the case of a national championship running from autumn to spring, some clubs could find themselves in a state of uncertainty, as financing for the second half of the season could not be guaranteed.

So, with all that in mind, lower leagues clubs have been accusing the RFU of acting in the interest of several rich Premier League clubs interested in synchronising the national championship with the ones in England, Germany and Spain.

World Cup factor But the RFU argues that the new “autumn-to-spring” model would allow clubs to earn more money.

Football officials say that fewer people attend football games in summer, choosing to go on holiday or spend weekends in their country houses instead.