UEFA ‘flips up’ financial ‘fair play’ and ties spending to revenue

Information brought by journalist Tariq Banga, from The New York Times, reporting a significant change to the financial regulations of UEFA, European football’s governing body. By abolishing the so-called “financial fair play”, UEFA will control the expenditures of clubs linked to the income they will generate, being able to favor the already rich in the old continent.

After more than a year of talks with the top clubs in Europe’s major leagues, UEFA has found an alternative to the dreaded “financial fair play”. The option would be to limit the spending of clubs in the transfer windows to 70% of their revenue, in addition to eliminating the salary cap for contracted players and imposing heavy penalties on those who do not comply with the new regulation, such as taking points and “relegation” from the Champions League to the European League.

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On April 7, the new rules will be voted on at the entity’s Executive Board meeting. The UEFA rulebook will receive another chapter, if changes are approved, which is the chapter on financial sustainability regulations.

Clubs from leagues with significant commercial appeal, such as the Premier League, could benefit from this new financial regulation. In addition to the big bonuses for rights to broadcast matches, the Premier League also has the largest club sponsorship stakes. A testament to the success of UK teams is that the last three Champions League finals have, on two occasions, had two UK teams playing ‘early’.