UEFA has softened its break-even Financial Fair Play regulations in an attempt to "encourage investment" in European club football and move from "austerity to sustainable growth," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. General Secretary Gianni Infantino said that FFP, implemented in '12, had succeeded in "curbing potential ruinous excessive spending by teams desperate for success and it was now time to encourage investors who may have been inhibited by the rules." Infantino: "We are sure these new rules will encourage investors to invest in European football, which has the best club football product in the world." Under FFP, clubs "cannot spend more than their generated revenue." One of the new rules, approved by the exec committee on Monday, is that clubs who "want to invest but fear they could breach the break-even rule may approach UEFA and gain approval for their plan" in what is known as a "voluntary settlement." However, clubs "must present a viable business plan for a settlement to be reached." UEFA will also make exceptions for clubs in countries considered to have "markets with structural economic deficiencies" and for those undergoing a business restructuring. A further change is clubs "may now deduct expenditure" in youth and women's football from the break-even calculation (REUTERS, 6/29). The AP's Rob Harris reported the "loosening of the rules" comes after UEFA found that collective losses by clubs decreased by 70% over the last three years, pointing to how European football grew "despite the tough economic climate on the continent." UEFA acknowledged that the regulations, which were designed to curb losses, "put off some prospective buyers of clubs who believed their ability to spend on strengthening the squad would have been too heavily restricted" (AP, 6/29). In London, Rory Smith wrote "it is not clear how long this version of FFP will last:" a case, led by the same lawyer who won the landmark Bosman ruling in '96, has "already been passed to the European Court of Justice that could result in FFP being thrown out entirely because it runs against European competition rules." More "important, though, two of the greatest concerns about where football in Europe is going is not being addressed." One of the "driving factors behind FFP were fears over clubs running up gargantuan debts: the problem, to many, was not owners like those at Chelsea, City and PSG," but those at Liverpool until '10 and ManU until the present day, "who essentially forced their clubs into debt for the privilege of being taken over." The issue of leveraged buyouts has "still not been adequately addressed" (LONDON TIMES, 6/30).
