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Has Financial Fair Play Changed European Football?

Author

Listed:
  • Donato Masciandaro
  • Ariela Caglio
  • Sébastien Laffitte
  • Gianmarco Ottaviano

Abstract

In 2011 UEFA, the governing body of European football, introduced the Financial Fair Play Regulation (FFPR), consisting of a set of financial restraints to be met by clubs as a prerequisite for participation to its competitions. The aim of the FFPR was to introduce financial discipline into the clubs’ decision making processes, and ultimately protect the longterm viability of the European football industry. The reform was criticized because of possible unintended detrimental consequences. In particular, Peeters and Szymanski 2014 provided a model-based ex-ante simulation analysis showing that the reform would increase the profitability of clubs, but also tilt the competitive balance in favor of the top teams, thus reducing the interest of fans and investors as one of the main attractions in sports is precisely that the best team does not always win. Exploiting an original dataset between the seasons 2007-2008 and 2019-2020, we provide an ex-post econometric evaluation of the effects of the introduction of the FFPR revealing causal evidence that largely vindicates those ex-ante predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Donato Masciandaro & Ariela Caglio & Sébastien Laffitte & Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2022. "Has Financial Fair Play Changed European Football?," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 22189, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp22189
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christine Cooper & Joanne Johnston, 2012. "Vulgate accountability: insights from the field of football," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(4), pages 602-634, May.
    2. Egon Franck, 2010. "Private Firm, Public Corporation or Member’s Association Governance Structures in European Football," International Journal of Sport Finance, Fitness Information Technology, vol. 5(2), pages 108-127, May.
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    9. Thomas Peeters & Stefan Szymanski, 2014. "Financial fair play in European football," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 29(78), pages 343-390, April.
    10. Hoey, Sam & Peeters, Thomas & Principe, Francesco, 2021. "The transfer system in European football: A pro-competitive no-poaching agreement?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Thomas Peeters & Stefan Szymanski, 2014. "Financial fair play in European football," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 29(78), pages 343-390, April.
    12. Brantly Callaway & Andrew Goodman-Bacon & Pedro H. C. Sant'Anna, 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with a Continuous Treatment," Papers 2107.02637, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2024.
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    Cited by:

    1. Budzinski, Oliver, 2024. "Financial regulation in sport championships as an anticompetitive institution," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 187, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    accounting measurement; Financial fair play (FFP); financial sustainability; team’s quality; competitive balance.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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