ZURICH: UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said on Sunday that the governing body’s improved Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations have made European football gain profits for the first time ever in 2017 season with $694.67 million (600 million euros). The FFP was introduced in 2011, the same year in which it had suffered record losses of $2.28 billion (1.7 billion euros).
New figures analysing the finances of 718 first-division clubs in Europe, compiled by UEFA’s financial sustainability & research division and which cover the period up to and including December 2017, show that the financial success of 29 of the 54 top division leagues could be determined by their cumulative balance sheets showing assets of $8.91 billion (7.7 billion euros) higher than debts and liabilities.
Ceferin stated: “Thanks to Financial Fair Play, European football is healthier than ever. The $694.67 million (€600 million) combined profits of the clubs in 2017 is a remarkable improvement on the $2.28 billion (€1,700 million) combined losses in 2011 when UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations were introduced. This clearly demonstrates that Financial Fair Play works.”
“This success, this new stability is a result of the work done by UEFA and its member associations in introducing licensing systems including cost control mechanisms which have yielded much improved financial discipline. Financial Fair Play has provided the platform for clubs to control their costs and pay their debts.”
The data also shows that European club football has never added so much revenue in one year, with a $1.85 billion (1.6 billion euros) increase in club revenues in 2017. The revenues are now seven times what they were 20 years ago.
However, the UEFA has not been resting on its laurels and it has updated their Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations further for the new competition cycle 2018-2021.
“Now is the time to take the next step,” Ceferin added.
“And that’s why we have decided to strengthen the regulations further, to push for more transparency and harmonisation of financial accounting practices.
“The new regulations will further allow UEFA to act more swiftly and anticipate problems before they become too big. For example, when we see that a club has spent over a certain amount on transfers, or when the club has too much debt, UEFA will now immediately react and proactively assess the club’s ability to meet the rules in the future.”
