Second Annual FFW Sports Group Lunchtime Seminar

UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations

Daniel Geey, Associate, Sports Group

at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP

Daniel.Geey@ffw.com

Financial Time-bomb?

• What are the regulations?

• Loss making clubs

• UEFA Publication “The European Club Footballing

Landscape”

• Deloitte Report

• Buy-in from UEFA affiliated clubs and leagues

Aiming for a Deflationary Effect

• Initial sanctions against clubs who do not fulfil the break-even requirement can be taken in time for the 2013/14 season

• Clubs to spend no more than they earn (with exceptions)

• Infrastructure investment permitted

• The Debt v Loss Debate

Breaking Even (ish)- Definitions

• Clubs do not have to break even until 2018 at the earliest

• Acceptable Deviation (Article 61)

• Monitoring Periods (Article 59)

• Exchange Rates (Article 60(3))

Break Even (ish) Revealed

Acceptable Deviation Levels

Monitoring Period

Number of Years

Years Included in the calculation

Acceptable Deviation (€m)

T-2 T-1 T Equity investment

Non-equity investment

2013-142014-152015-162016-172017-182018-19

233333

N/A2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16

2011-122012-132013-142014- 152015-162016-17

2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18

4545303030Less than

30

555555

Sanctions

• ‘Club Financial Control Panel’ and ‘Organs for Administration of Justice’

• “the Club Financial Control Panel may refer the case to the Organs for Administration of Justice, which will take the appropriate measure(s) without delay in accordance with the procedure defined in the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations for urgent cases.” (Article 63(4))

• Early soft touch approach v threat of licence withdrawal

Talk Takeaways

• Sanctions in force by 2013-14 season

• Leeway for a transitional period

• A phased approach obviously beneficial for clubs

• Pure break-even not required until at least

the 2018/19