The Football League has confirmed its Financial Fair Play regulations will be extended to cover all three divisions from next season, following the backing of the 24 npower Championship clubs.

Clubs in League One and League Two are already subject to the financial rules, which were introduced following a review by the competition in a bid to curb unrestrained club expenditure.

The regulations contain a number of sanctions for clubs that exceed "defined limits" with regards to losses and shareholder equity investment, which will decrease over five years.

It follows recent research by Begbies Traynor, which found that one fifth of all Football League clubs are showing signs of financial "ill-health".

Football League chair Greg Clarke said: "While we cannot promise that these rules will deliver results overnight, they will begin to lay the foundations for a league of financially self-sustaining football clubs."

Details: www.football-league.co.uk