Policy analysts know that one of the many causes of governance failure is that policies can have unintended effects. So it has proved with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) scheme.
It has boosted the super clubs that form Europe’s elite which is why they did not oppose the measure. It is now more difficult for a benefactor to boost a club just outside the top level like Manchester City or Paris Saint Germain. They have been penalised under the FFP regulations for daring to break into the cartel.
Policy analysts know that one of the many causes of governance failure is that policies can have unintended effects. So it has proved with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) scheme.
It has boosted the super clubs that form Europe’s elite which is why they did not oppose the measure. It is now more difficult for a benefactor to boost a club just outside the top level like Manchester City or Paris Saint Germain. They have been penalised under the FFP regulations for daring to break into the cartel.
Uefa knows it has a problem. However, Gianni Infantino, Uefa’s general secretary, told The Times earlier this week that last year for the first time since records were kept revenue growth outpaced wage increases.
Emphasing that as a success, he said, ‘First you have to have austerity. Otherwise you go straight to the wall. Then you have to talk about ways to stimulate growth in a responsible way.’
Uefa appears to have two ideas for addressing the gap between the super clubs and the rest. The first is to increase the home grown rule, currently eight in a 25-man squad, to spread the overseas talent around more. This overlooks the fact that some of that talent is captured at an early age in a club’s academy.
The other option could be to limit the number of teams from top leagues or the number of Champions League places. However, that would undermine the interest of the competition for the broadcasters and upset the powerful big leagues. Uefa has some more thinking to do.