March 23, (THEWILL) – There are indications to suggest that major changes to financial limits in football will be unveiled soon, with confirmation coming within weeks.
Reports monitored by THEWILL on Tuesday revealed that the “soccer-related spending” of football clubs “will not be able to surpass 70 percent of their income” under the updated UEFA guidelines.
The new concept is thought to be known as “financial sustainability regulations” (FSR), which is a far cry from the present “financial fair play” (FFP) moniker. While FFP imposed limits on the amount of money clubs may lose, FSR appears to be targeted toward tying spending more closely to revenue.
The proposals will be evaluated during a European Club Association executive board meeting on Thursday this week, and a high-level UEFA conference next month will grant them final approval.
It is timely for many clubs throughout Europe. For instance, Everton’s salary bill had grown to £164.8 million in the most recent set of released reports. In terms of compensation alone, the Blues had an 88.6 percent wage-to-revenue ratio.
The most recent wage-to-turnover ratio for Liverpool was 64 percent, with a total pay spend of £314 million.
Some teams that are financed by moneybags wanted the new spending ratio to be as high as 85 percent, while it was also alleged that there were proposals for a considerably lower limit elsewhere, particularly from German sides.
To give European teams time to acclimatise to the new laws, the new rules will be implemented gradually and clubs will be entitled to spend up to 90% of their revenue for the first three seasons before it is reduced to its permanent 70% level.
UEFA will have the power to apply both sporting and financial consequences for rule breakers, including fines, expulsion threats, and, for the first time, the option of demoting teams between the three competitions it now oversees.
Another option might be point deductions under the revamped Champions League and Europa League formats. However, like with FFP, it is unclear whether the new programme will be able to achieve its goals.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
