Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called for stricter rules on foreign ownership of clubs in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. On a visit to the European Parliament, the football supremo stated, ‘Something has to be done about these billionaire owners. These days you can buy a club as easily as a football jersey. This is not just about England where the problem is acute. This will spread across Europe.’ Blatter is, however, less clear about what the solution is to what he perceives as a problem.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called for stricter rules on foreign ownership of clubs in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. On a visit to the European Parliament, the football supremo stated, ‘Something has to be done about these billionaire owners. These days you can buy a club as easily as a football jersey. This is not just about England where the problem is acute. This will spread across Europe.’ Blatter is, however, less clear about what the solution is to what he perceives as a problem. A country like Britain, which has always welcomed foreign investment, is not going to bar foreign ownership in one sector of the economy and it is not an area in which the EU is really competent to act. Blatter admitted that there was ‘no single remedy’, but he believed owners should have an association with the area before buying a club. Apparently, there is a Swiss law of this kind, but any such measure would be open to challenge in the British courts. What is most likely to dry up the flow of foreign investment is the credit crunch. But that is likely to have more of an effect on where the money comes from rather than the actual flow.