Premier League to VET SPONSORSHIPS

Football Agents

Times News Paper.

The Paper reports that 'The rules were agreed by the Premier League clubs last week despite opposition from Newcastle United and Manchester City. If the Premier League’s board has reasonable grounds to “suspect” that it is an associated party deal or “otherwise than at arm’s length” then an independent firm will determine whether it is of fair market value or has been artificially inflated.

The advent of the Newcastle pumping money into the Club raised concerns that it will be able to artificially raised sponsorship deals to raise its finances and therefore be able to get round Financial Fair Play Rules. 

What are Financial Fair Play Rules?

Initially introduced by Uefa  to prevent clubs spending beyond their means.  It was to ensure fair play between clubs and also to stop or at least reduce the risk of football clubs going bust.  The first thing the Club must ensure, in reality is to prevent the  heart ruling the head.  That is prevent overspend particularly on players and the wage bill, the most expensive part of running a football club.

According to UEFA Clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£3.9m) more than they earn per assessment period made over a rolling three-year period.  BBC Sport,  reports that Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt. 

Fines

The potential punishments includs warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for Uefa competitions.

Nine clubs were found to have breached the FFP criteria in the first assessment period, most notably Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, and a range of fines and sanctions were imposed.

City were fined £49m, £32m of which was suspended, had spending restrictions imposed and could only name a 21-man Champions League squad for 2014-15.

Getting Real on FFP

The Premier League is the most caters for the most valuable sport on earth.  It must be seen to do the right thing, apply the rules and ensure fair play between all clubs.  But it must also be applied equally across all Countries so the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona et al are also covered.

Let us know what you think.