CRUSADING Leigh MP Andy Burnham is leading a £100million fight to save grassroots football.

Mr Burnham will head a delegation of MPs to Brussels this week in an attempt to win a bigger share of TV money for Nationwide League clubs and the game at the amateur level.

They will meet with the European Commission, who are threatening to declare it illegal for the Premier League to negotiate a collective TV deal for all its 20 clubs.

Europe wants individual clubs to be able to sell their own games to the highest bidder -- which Mr Burnham believes could spell financial ruin for clubs like Leigh RMI.

Instead he wants the Premier League to keep the right to strike TV deals collectively -- and in return the Premier League would put 10 per cent of the deal, around £100million, into lower league clubs and local facilities. Currently the Premiership puts five percent into grassroots football.

Speaking before his meeting with the European Competition Commissioner, Mr Burnham told the Leigh Journal:

"It would be damaging for football if the European Commission succeeded in allowing Premier League clubs to negotiate their own individual TV deals. It would spell the beginning of the end for a lot of Nationwide League clubs and local teams like Leigh RMI who rely on money from the Premier League -- I believe a lot of clubs would fold.

Big teams become richer

"The big teams in the Premier League would become richer, while the Nationwide League teams would be left with nothing. We should not be going down that path. I will be telling the European Commissioner this when I meet with him on Wednesday."

The current TV deal with Sky, estimated to be worth £1.6billion, has only one more season to run and is soon due for re-negotiation.

The football mad MP, who has a season ticket at Everton, has persuaded the Toffeemen to play a pre-season friendly this summer with Leigh RMI.

The Hilton Park outfit will take on the Premiership side, which features England's whizzkid Wayne Rooney on July 26.

Mr Burnham said: "I would like to thank Everton Football Club for agreeing to come to the town and supporting Leigh RMI. It promises to be a great day and I urge people to come down and give RMI their support."