Executive summary The purpose of this report is to investigate the effects of Financial Fair Play on European Club football. Research has been done by reading articles, looking up information on the website of the UEFA and watching videos on the matter. The research showed that Financial Fair Play has a positive effect on financial sustainability, that the UEFA’s strict policy hasn’t lead to a change in financial policies among clubs, not even after punishments. Although it must be said that there are some small changes to be seen in the spendings of clubs. What the report didn’t answer was what effect Financial Fair Play had on the competitive balance. Further research in 5 or 10 years would be advised to see these effects. The results …show more content…
Fair play always used to be referenced to good behaviour on the pitch. But in this century it is also refers to good behaviour in financial aspect. Many clubs have extremely high debts now, and some clubs aren’t even able to pay their player or other clubs in time or have reached the top of European football with the help of external money. This has led to an unbalanced competitiveness between clubs and competitions. The UEFA thought it was time to take action, and therefore they approved a set of rules called: …show more content…
On the vertical scale we can see the position of the clubs at the end of the 2008/2009 season. On the horizontal scale we can see the expenditure compared to the rest of the league, 1.0x being the league’s average. What really stands out in this graphic is of course the two Spanish clubs at the top, in the right corner. These two clubs spend over 4 times as much money than the average of the Spanish Liga BBVA. It won’t be surprising: these two clubs are FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. This graphic also shows the following: clubs that spend more than average never end up at the bottom of the League table and clubs spending less money usually don’t end up at the top of the League table. The UEFA understands that this leads to a weak financial stability of European Club Football and an unbalanced competitiveness as well. Therefore the UEFA has approved the Financial Fair Play rules. UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantini explains to UEFA.com the reasons for the inroduction of Financial Fair