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European Club Football after “Five Treatments” with Financial Fair Play—Time for an Assessment

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  • Egon Franck

    (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland)

Abstract

UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFP) have impacted European club football. After five distinct applications of the break-even requirement, which represents the cornerstone of these regulations, it is time for an assessment. How has the situation in European top-division football changed since the FFP regulation? The most recent financial data show that European club football is characterized by significant financial recovery and further polarization. How has the FFP regulation presumably affected this development? This article discusses plausible reasons why FFP has contributed to financial recovery but has not aggravated polarization. Understanding the drivers of polarization is essential before taking further regulatory steps.

Suggested Citation

  • Egon Franck, 2018. "European Club Football after “Five Treatments” with Financial Fair Play—Time for an Assessment," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijfss:v:6:y:2018:i:4:p:97-:d:190206
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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Calahorro-López & Melinda Ratkai & Julio Vena-Oya, 2022. "The Financial/Accounting Impact of FFP on Participating in European Competitions: An Analysis of the Spanish League," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Aurélien François & Nadine Dermit-Richard & Daniel Plumley & Robert Wilson, 2021. "Analyzing the effectiveness of UEFA's financial fair play regulations: A comparative study of the French Ligue 1 and the English Premier League [L'analyse du fair-play financier au prisme de son ef," Working Papers hal-03167685, HAL.
    3. Havran, Zsolt & András, Krisztina, 2022. "A puha költségvetési korlát szindrómája a hivatásos labdarúgásban. Kitekintés a nemzetközi és a magyarországi sajátosságokra [The soft-budget constraint in professional football syndrome. A view of," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(2), pages 230-254.
    4. Marco Di Domizio & Raul Caruso, 2021. "Analisi Economica E Prospettive Del Progetto "Super League"," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 17(1), pages 85-107, luglio.
    5. Aurélien François & Nadine Dermit-Richard & Daniel Plumley & Robert Wilson, 2021. "Analyzing the effectiveness of UEFA's financial fair play regulations: A comparative study of the French Ligue 1 and the English Premier League [L'analyse du fair-play financier au prisme de son ef," Post-Print hal-03167685, HAL.
    6. Luigi Buzzacchi & Federico Caviggioli & Francesco Luigi Milone & Davide Scotti, 2021. "Impact and Efficiency Ranking of Football Managers in the Italian Serie A: Sport and Financial Performance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(7), pages 744-776, October.
    7. Marco Di Domizio & Raul Caruso & Bernd Frick, 2020. "Intelligenza Collettiva E Valore Di Mercato Dei Calciatori: Il Caso Transfermarkt," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 16(2), pages 155-172, novembre.
    8. Aloys Prinz & Stefan Thiem, 2021. "Value‐maximizing football clubs," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(5), pages 605-622, November.
    9. Rudemarlyn Urdaneta & Juan C. Guevara-Pérez & Fernando Llena-Macarulla & José M. Moneva, 2021. "Transparency and Accountability in Sports: Measuring the Social and Financial Performance of Spanish Professional Football," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    football; regulation; financial fair play; financial recovery; polarization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • L49 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Other
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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