UEFA’s financial fair play was introduced in order to level the playing field and curb the astronomical spending and debt figures incurred by wealthy clubs in Europe.
Before the introduction of this rule, big clubs in Europe with heavy pockets were trying to outspend their revenues with the hope of luring stars and achieving success in Europe.
This trend led to owners announcing and offering mindboggling amounts of money in order to lure big stars and key players to their respective clubs.
This technique of spending big and luring stars from the lesser outfits has brought fruits to some clubs. The English side, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, had spent staggering amounts of money on big players, thanks to their oil rich Russian owner, Roman Abramovich.
Since his arrival, the club has gone through a period of revival. They have won three Premier League trophies, one Champions League, three FA Cups and two League Cups. That is a total of nine trophies under the Russian owner.
Other teams in Europe have also adopted the same technique. The likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 have also dug deep into their pockets to attract big stars in order to win major trophies.
Manchester City won their first Premier League trophy in more than four decades, thanks to the wealthy Sheikhs who purchased the club.
We have seen how big money can attract and revolutionize clubs that are seeking glamour and glory on and off the pitch. However, this way of doing business in the football world has its own down side.
It led to clubs incurring huge losses and debts. Lesser outfits were also losing some of their key players and bright young stars to heavy spenders. Basically, it led to the influx of players from less financially capable clubs to the more wealthy ones.
This trend has surely destabilized the balance of football clubs and domestic leagues in Europe.
That is why UEFA felt that some kind of framework was needed to curb this trend and maintain the overall stability of European football and its finances.
UEFA president, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-c25453 Platini, has said that more than half the clubs in Europe are over spending and because of this they are in huge debts.
“Fifty per cent of clubs are losing money and this is an increasing trend. We needed to stop this downward spiral. They have spent more than they have earned in the past and haven't paid their debts,” he admitted.
He has also explained the rationale behind this framework and that they are taking these measures to protect the interest of all clubs.
“We don't want to kill or hurt the clubs; on the contrary, we want to help them in the market. The teams who play in our tournaments have unanimously agreed to our principles…living within your means is the basis of accounting but it hasn't been the basis
of football for years now.”
The introduction of this framework is surely controversial. Some are saying this move is good for football while others are sceptical of it. Given the financial crises that have affected the entire economy of the world, it doesn’t hurt to have a mechanism
that forces heavy spenders to stop their extravagance.
Disclaimer: Views expressed here are the writer’s own and in no way represent bettor.com’s official editorial policy
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