The income from player sales for clubs in the three lower divisions of English soccer has plummeted since new regulations went into effect, and the clubs say their future is at risk.
The value of sales from the clubs, known collectively as the Football League, to clubs in the top-level Premier League has dropped by more than a third, from $85.1 million in 1999-2000 to $54.2 million this past season, according to figures released by the Football League.
The value of the sales among Football League clubs themselves has dropped by almost 90 percent, from an average of $48.2 million for the five seasons 1997-98 to 2001-02 to only $5.4 million last season.
Under rules introduced by soccer's international governing body and approved by European regulators last year, there is supposed to be only one "transfer period," when players can be bought and sold, each year, plus a limited midseason window. The transfer season opens when the playing season closes in May and ends Aug. 31. Clubs must then wait until midwinter before they can buy and sell players again.
The Football League has never accepted the rule. League clubs tend to live hand-to-mouth financially and never know when they are going to be so desperate that they must raise money by selling a player.
The Premier League, however, is abiding by FIFA's rule, and the Football League teams can't sell players if there isn't a buyer.
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| Mawhinney |
Football League Chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney said in a statement: "If the downward spiral created by the introduction of transfer windows continues, clubs in the Football League could go out of business. We have 72 clubs who historically have been sustained in part by the ability to sell players as and when the need arises. That ability has been taken away."
The Premier League has turned down the lower league's request to reopen the domestic market by lifting the transfer windows.
Mawhinney said the Football League is going to explore the possibility of hosting a conference of soccer bodies from around Europe and beyond to investigate a way of challenging FIFA over the imposition of windows on a domestic basis.
When the issue came up in London July 10, FIFA President Joseph Blatter reiterated that his federation would examine the effect of the new windows after two years.
Jay Stuart is editorial director of SporTVision magazine and Sports TV Report newsletter.
