Almost 80,000 fans cram into Wembley for Bolton v Plymouth showing why Premier League must protect our lower divisions

WHAT was the world’s biggest football attendance this weekend?

Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash against Borussia Dortmund? Or maybe it was Real Madrid taking on Valladolid at the Bernabeu. No, it was Plymouth v Bolton in the Papa John’s Trophy.

A whopping 79,389 poured into Wembley and watched the two League One clubs battle it out for the most junior of all the pieces of silverware in English professional football.

There’s not another country on the planet that would be able to attract that sort of crowd for a lower-tier match.

Yet again this brings into focus the importance of preserving our lower divisions.

Almost every single current England international has either played for an EFL club or cut their teeth in the EFL Trophy.

The atmosphere in Wembley was as good — if not better — than many cup finals I’ve watched between Premier League sides.

Teams like Bolton and Plymouth have a rich heritage. 

Bolton famously won the first FA Cup final to be staged at Wembley 100 years ago when they beat West Ham.

Back then it was estimated that 300,000 flocked to the stadium.

No country has such football heritage and the reason why clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Co are so huge is precisely because they have been part of that history.

Clubs in England are at the centre of their communities. Bolton manager Ian Evatt was right after his team’s thrilling 4-0 win over Argyle when he said: “When clubs are successful, their communities thrive.”

Even in dark times such as the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis, football brings a much needed boost to people’s lives.

Yet Bolton Wanderers — who produced the legendary Nat Lofthouse — almost were wiped off the face of the football map less than four years ago.

Sharon Brittan and some local businessmen stepped in and saved the club. The job that have done with the Trotters has been miraculous. And Evatt made sure he congratulated her when he walked up to the Royal Box to pick up his winners’ medal.

The road has been bumpy at times. They dropped into League Two but since recruiting Evatt it has been mostly uphill. He got them back into League One, they are challenging for a play-off spot this season and just won their first trophy since they won the same competition in 1989.

Of course, the club in between their trophy triumphs had a glorious Premier League era, which brought them European football, under ex-boss Sam Allardyce, who was at Wembley to watch them on Sunday.

Bolton are a great example why top-flight clubs should be happy to pour more money into the lower leagues from its vast broadcasting revenue streams. By doing so, they would not just be preserving clubs in the football pyramid but give themselves a security blanket if they were to drop out of the promised land.

Rick Parry — when he was chief executive of the Premier League in 1996 — offered EFL clubs a 25 per cent share of all future income. 

Incredibly, back then, EFL clubs insanely voted against that proposal. 

But, now as chairman of the EFL, Parry is seeking to secure that 25 per cent funding as part of the New Deal for Football talks between the FA and the two leagues.

With the huge success of our top division that 25 per cent slice would be a mouth-watering figure that would do so much to strengthen our pyramid — and the top clubs would benefit from that also.

Now with a football regulator set to be appointed, the Premier League will be forced to share more of their considerable wealth. It is only fair they should do so.

The reason why the Premier League is massive is because the clubs in it have grown through the rich history of the EFL.

You can bet your bottom dollar that clubs like Brighton and Brentford will not be in the Premier League forever.

And those two teams certainly know what it is like to be at the other end of the spectrum.

The Seagulls almost dropped into non-league while Brentford were just over a decade ago in League Two.

Hopefully this can all be sorted and in place for the new season.