Evolution of Financial Fair Play, competitive balance and transfer matters were some of the key topics addressed today at a meeting of the Professional Football Strategy Council at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
The future of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play and a set of potential new rules to be adopted at the end of the season were discussed, with a view to further strengthening Financial Fair Play and guaranteeing the long-term sustainability of European football.
Furthermore, all parties agreed that maintaining competitive balance shall be a priority for European football and stakeholders discussed a number of potential measures – such as squad size limits, the idea of a “luxury tax”, or “transfer tax” – that might help to address problems of competitive imbalance in European football. Further talks on these matters will take place in the coming months.
The PFSC endorsed a joint position on football agents/intermediaries, which is designed to shape policy change in this regard by potentially adding a cap on fees, introducing more transparency/accountability, and appropriate sanctions in case of infringement of the rules. The document was prepared by the four stakeholders meeting in the EU social dialogue sectoral committee for professional football. Related to this, the PFSC received an update on the ongoing work of the FIFA Task Force on transfer reforms.
The PFSC comprises elected representatives of the four main stakeholder groups involved in European professional football: the clubs, via the European Club Association (ECA); the leagues, via the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL); the players, via FIFPro Division Europe; and UEFA, as the football governing body at European level. The body discusses issues of strategic importance for professional football in Europe and advises the UEFA Executive Committee accordingly.