The EU has been stepping up its interest in illegal state aid in football, having recently launched an investigation into a number of leading Spanish clubs. A deal allowing Swansea City FC and the Ospreys rugby region to play at the Liberty Stadium is being investigated by the European Commission.
Swansea council has been asked to give details over funding arrangements at the council-owned stadium. State aid rules, policed by the commission, limit how much public money can be given to private companies.
The EU has been stepping up its interest in illegal state aid in football, having recently launched an investigation into a number of leading Spanish clubs. A deal allowing Swansea City FC and the Ospreys rugby region to play at the Liberty Stadium is being investigated by the European Commission.
Swansea council has been asked to give details over funding arrangements at the council-owned stadium. State aid rules, policed by the commission, limit how much public money can be given to private companies.
The £27m Liberty Stadium was built in 2005 with the Swans and the Ospreys both playing there. The clubs pay a peppercorn rent to the Swansea Stadium Management Company (SSMC) – a body running the stadium which is a partnership between the council and the two clubs.
The clubs also contribute over £1m a year to the running costs of the stadium with any profit made being returned to the teams and the local authority. However, it is understood so far that SSMC has failed to ever return a profit which means the council is yet to see a return on its investment.
Many of these investigations never lead to any action being taken and they tend to be rather protracted.