Brussels, 08/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - FIFA rules and those of national football associations must be reviewed, including by introducing a “fair-play levy” on transfer fees that exceed a certain amount. According to a study presented by the European Commission and published on Thursday 7 February, the situation is only increasing the financial imbalances that exist “between the haves and the have-nots”, which shows that the current system for redistributing money in the circuit is ineffective.
The Commission wants to look at the measures that could promote competitive balance and sporting fairness in professional football. Behind these two ideals there is a huge amount at stake financially. In just one year, nearly €3 billion can be spent on player transfers. Less than 2% of that amount makes its way back into training or solidarity mechanisms, despite the fact that this principle of redistribution “constitutes one of the justifications for the transfer rules”, states the KEA advisory committee which initiated the study.
For that reason, “we need a transfer system which contributes to the development of all clubs and young players”, said Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou (sport). A group of EU experts on “good governance in sport” is now to examine the 21 recommendations set out in the study, at its next meeting in April. Ways of, for example, limiting the number of players per club will be looked at, in order to review the matter of “third-party ownership”, where a player is effectively leased to a club by an agent, and to put an end to contractual practices that inflate transfer fees. (JK/transl.jl)