UEFA to investigate rules to curb club debt

UEFA shares the growing concern about spiralling debt in soccer and has set up a working party to investigate ways of controlling it, general secretary David Taylor said this week.

Taylor was speaking a day after David Triesman, chairman of the Football Association, said that English clubs had amassed debts of around three billion pounds, that transparency in the game "lies in an unmarked grave" and that even the biggest clubs were not immune from collapse.

"I was very pleased to see the statements from Lord Triesman and we also believe that the European Union shares many of our ideals about the self-regulation of sport in a free market," Taylor said.

He told the Leaders in Football conference at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground that a working party would meet for the first time next week to begin investigating the issue.

"This is an attempt to find greater financial stability, especially at a time when banks are failing.

"Governments might bail out banks but they are not going to bail out a football club," he said.

"The current system needs to be looked at, it needs more transparency. We need to look at which areas we regulate to ensure the long-term stability of the clubs. It is not something that will happen overnight, we are still at the stage of investigating and developing solutions."

Taylor said that UEFA was a long way from coming up with any concrete proposals but was likely to favour an extension or revision of its current licensing system whereby clubs have to satisfy various off-field criteria before being allowed to take part in Europe's club competitions.

He also echoed Triesman in dismissing the current "fit and proper persons" test for ownership as of little use in establishing the financial credentials of people looking to take over clubs.

"We showed with club licensing that these things can spread through UEFA leadership, starting with our own competitions," said Taylor, formerly head of the Scottish FA.

Ultimately, as with the current licensing system, clubs could be barred from entering the Champions League if they failed to comply with the rules but that would be an extremely unlikely situation.

"We welcome investment in football but we want stronger roots for that investment and this is an attempt to find greater stability," Taylor said.

"Many new owners or investors are not giving gifts to clubs. In most cases they are loans and ultimately the club is indebted to its benefactor.

"There are no solutions yet but we are all convinced something needs to be done."