UEFA approves 'Financial fair play'
17.09.2009
The ‘financial fair play’ concept put forward by UEFA president Platini last month, was approved this week at a UEFA Executive Committee meeting.
The aim of the concept is to improve the financial fairness in the European competitions by setting up at set of financial measures. One measure will be that clubs can not repeatedly spend more than their revenues.
A Club Financial Control Panel will be the controlling body implementing these measures over a three-year period. It will consist of financial and legal experts and conduct financial audits to ensure correct appliance of the UEFA club licensing system. The Panel will be chaired by former Belgium Prime Minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene.
UEFA President Michel Platini said: "The idea is not to hurt clubs. The idea is to help them. The basic premise is that clubs should not spend more than they earn. Club owners have asked for the introduction of rules, and this will be an adventure for European football and UEFA”.
SOURCE: UEFA
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Matthew Murphy,
17.09.2009 10:45:
If we needed any further proof that Uefa's interest in football is now purely money rather than sport this initiative proves it. Having failed to secure a European Super league they set about altering the format of the European Cup to ensure it got it's annual money grabbing carnival in by the back door. Whilst in theory every club can qualify and even win the competition, in practice, and as we have seen in reality, only the same clubs ever qualify and therefore get access to the multi-million pound boys club each year. This gives them the financial clout to continue to dominate their domestic leagues and therefore continue the ever repeating cycle. Remember, before the changes, after winning the competition for the 1st time it was a further 26 years before Manchester United even qualified again because they couldn't get past the hardest of the qualifying hurdles of winning their domestic league. Now they get a crack at the thing along with Uefa's other chosen few, every year! How anybody can claim the competition is now harder to win because you have to play more games is beyond me. Whilst the new format was not Uefa's perfect solution at least it pretty much guaranteed it would get it's Real Madrids, Barcelonas, AC Milans, Juventus', Manchester Uniteds and Liverpools each year which is what it is clearly only interested in. All those teams with such massive finacial advantage should be capable of finishing in the top 4 places in their respective leagues (remember, only the special 3 leagues get to have 4 qualifiers. Little footballing nations like say France and Germany only get 3 and others less still), who ever else qualifies doesn't really matter. However, with the arrival of the "sugar daddies" teams like Chelsea, Manchester City and Portsmouth could spoil Uefa's carefully planned deception. It was OK when it was only Chelsea as the plan was still pretty safe,give or take the odd anomoly like Everton qualifying, but if Manchester City and Portsmouth suddenly find themselves in a financial position to compete on a regular basis then that will really threaten Uefa's plan as United and Liverpool's quasi-guaranteed place in the boys club could really be in jeopardy. So having provided the big clubs with an unfair financial advantage by guaranteeing them perenial access to the 'Champions' League pot of gold, (which of course will be counted as footballing revenue for M' Platini's purposes) they now seek to consolidate their deception by excluding clubs using funds provided by outside interests. Now let me think, who does the new proposals favour most? All you small clubs who only earn a little, can only spend a little so better start developing your own players quickly while the big boys can spend their mega revenue on all the best players. Oh yeah, and of course when you've produced the next Rooney, Robinho, or Gerrard, those same big clubs will be able to nip in and steal them for next to nothing because of course Uefa will be unable to stop them due to European free trade legislation. Financial Fair Play!! Who the hell are they trying to kid!