EU tackles club debt in sport proposal

BRUSSELS - Football club debt, media rights, doping and match fixing are among the hot topics broached by the European Commission in a policy paper on the EU's new role in the world of sport.

Handed a greater say in the area under the EU's new rulebook, the Lisbon Treaty, proposals in the commission's communication on Tuesday (18 January) discuss the societal, economic and organisational dimensions of sport, and will now be debated by member states and the European Parliament in the coming months.

"The measures we have adopted today highlight sport's contribution to our society and will help improve the way sport is run," the EU commissioner with responsibility for sport, Androulla Vassiliou, said in a statement.

A debate over football club debt has raged across the union in recent years as million-euro salaries for footballers have pushed an increasing number of clubs into the red, with restrictions on this varying from one country to another.

The sport's regulatory body, the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa), has said Financial Fair Play rules should be phased in over the next three years, a position the commission appears to support in Tuesday's communication.

Under the Uefa rules, clubs must not spend more than they earn. The 'break-even' requirement in club's finances will be scrutinised during the 2013-14 season, when clubs face a ban from the Champions League if they fail to comply.

"I am very happy to see the European Commission on our side on so many important issues for the future of European football," said Uefa president Michel Platini after the communication's publication.

"The commission recognises the need to put football's finances in order, something that the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations will help to do," added the former French football star.

Also on the economic side, the EU paper entitled 'Developing the European Dimension in Sport', calls on sporting associations to establish mechanisms for the collective selling of media rights to ensure adequate redistribution of revenues.

Regarding the societal role of sport, the paper suggests the EU should sign up to the Anti-Doping Convention of the Council of Europe, as well as develop and implement security arrangements and safety requirements for international sports events.

The commission tackles the contentious topic of club transfer rules under the 'organisation' pillar of Tuesday's communication, with the Brussels-based institution planning to organise a stakeholder conference on the issue in the coming coming months.

"Transfers of players regularly come to public attention because of concerns about the legality of the acts and about transparency of financial flows involved," said the paper. "The commission considers that the time has come for an overall evaluation of transfer rules for professional sport in Europe."

Governments and MEPs will now decide which suggestions should be turned into concrete legislative proposals, with the EU's modest budget in the area likely to curtail ambitions however.

In 2009-2010 the Commission provided roughly €6 million to support around 40 sport projects aimed at promoting health, social inclusion, volunteering, access for the disabled, gender equality and the fight against doping. Twelve new projects will be launched in 2011.