FFP: The double-edged sword that could bring down the UEFA

You think this can last…there’s a storm coming, Mr. Abramovich. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, ’cause when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large, and leave so little for the rest of us.”

THE DARK KNIGHT?

I will be joining the Champions League Winners, he had tweeted, which had got the blue side of London a lot more elated. They had got ‘their’ man, they felt rejuvenated. Everyone associated with Chelsea FC was raising a toast, oblivious to the blizzard which fast approached.

32 million pounds is what it took Chelsea to plunder Eden from the gardens of Lille. This coupled with a two hundred thousand pound per week wages, would according to Di-Matteo bring success and keep Roman happy for ages. But while Chelsea and a whole lot of clubs were busy splashing the cash, the LIBOR scandal had made the Barclay’s Bank franchise suffer a deep gash. Yes the primary sponsors of the Premier League were reeling, while we were having the poster boy’s unveiling. But Chelsea aren’t alone. For Manchester City have created enough of a furore.They have finally got the the Premier League trophy adorned with blue ribbons, but after having dispensed with money to the tune of nearly a billion, only on transfer fees and wages.

United, on their part, could not be left behind. They spent a whooping 73 million pounds for RVP, leaving us to wonder whether this was Danny Welbeck’s career’s RIP. No wonder England struggles in International competitions, because of a lack of patience and opportunity to play at the highest level. Coming to the KOP which has been plundering clubs closer back home. Hefty prices have been paid for British players, and when they have not lived up to their billing, more players have been added for foolish money, rather than the squads being trimmed. While a certain Arsenal, like a diligent student, somehow manages to crack the Top four riddle every-time while exercising austerity, clearly the Professor having a ‘spur’-ing effect on them.

Meanwhile in Spain, where jobs are not available, the duo some of Barcelona and Madrid keep on recruiting people even though they may be well stocked already. New Galacticos are presented to the Madridistas, and ‘smart’ acquisitions continue in Catalunya for ‘bargain’ prices, while Malaga the Spanish Manchester City, faces an impending crisis.

All these clubs are separated by their jersey colors, their style of play and all, but what unites them is hope. Hope of plying their trade in the Champions League season after season, and the thrills and magic of the nights like Moscow and Istanbul aren’t the only reasons.

For let’s face it, football in today’s world is more of a business than a sport. Oligarch and Tycoons spend fortunes on clubs so that they can rake in profits in the longer run. And we all know how important visibility, which ultimately leads to the establishment of a brand image, is for selling yourself. And the Champions League does just that. It gives global recognition, elevates you to an elite-level, while ensuring that your coffers remain full. It introduces the viewers to unheard names like Apoel Nicosia, while helping more established names like Manchester United expand their presence in markets previously untapped like Moscow.

This ensures that the clubs maximize profit while UEFA enhances its global-image. To reap you must sow, investment is paramount to growth. Thus football clubs have to pay exorbitant prices for talented players, to ensure that they have a very good chance of playing in Europe. Even smaller clubs like Sunderland splurge 12 million pounds on unproven players like Steven Fletcher, in the hope that he will help them qualify for at least the Europa League, the Champions League’s poorer cousin. Thus the clubs put youth development on hold, while they search for talent around the globe. Besides there is something more than hope that makes these clubs identical, it is the looming dark clouds of debt.

Debts which would make any organization fret, but these clubs treat them like an empty threat. Debts accrued year after year due to their unrestrained ‘window shopping.’

But lest the clubs forget, they would do well to remember LEEDS. For the club represented the ultimate failed dream. One season, they were rubbing shoulders with the elite, and the next year they were playing in complete obscurity, all owing to their European ambitions. It tried to achieve too much, too soon, by taking too much risks. Portsmouth FC, the winners of the 2008 FA cup too spring to mind, a club which held Milan to a 2-2 draw could not manage to hold onto its players because its financial policies were flawed.

Thus UEFA the Zeus of the footballing world, is angry with the petulant mortals, who have violated its code of conduct, and are also harming themselves in the process. And just like elders being strict with children, it is trying to steal their thunder to correct their blunder. Their whip is the FFP, whose lash may turn out to be very harsh. FFP also represents three letters which quieten down’s Wenger’s temper. In essence, the FFP is UEFA’s tool to reduce economic disparity, while at the same time ensuring that clubs spend in co-relation to what they earn, thus helping them to break-even.With owners not allowed to bail out their clubs in terms of loaning shares to generate revenue, a more frugal-minded approach will have to be employed, which will essentially make sure that clubs will not be able to ‘stock’ players, if it causes financial imbalance, which is essentially what happens now a days.

This will further lead to greater accessibility to talented players in the transfer market, and more number of clubs will be able to afford their services ensuring that the big boys do not get to pick whomsoever they want, though players could lose out on lucrative contracts in the process. With no restriction on the amount of spending on the youth academy, and the infrastructure facilities, both the national teams and the viewers experience as a whole will benefit.

Having begun in 2011-12, clubs will be expected to break even by 2017, and if they don’t comply, then from 2014 onwards, they can kiss their Champions League ambitions good-bye. The policies incorporated seem noble in intention but may prove difficult when it comes to their implementation.

For Mr Platini, unknown to you a storm may be brewing up, your valiant efforts may go in vain, for your supposed boon may just turn out be yours and UEFA’s bane.

21 st May, 2015: The Champions League final is being contested in Rome. But the usual uproar is missing. The Uefa officials look bemused. There’s not much crowd to cheer. And then the anthem plays. The team names are prominently visible on the board, it is CFR Cluj Vs Apoel Nicosia.

21st May, 2015: San Siro is jam-packed. It seems nobody is afraid of being ransacked. The players walk out of the tunnel. You can see reds and an army of whites. But a familiar background score is missing. This has to be a friendly, but it infact is the Super League final. It is Manchester United vs Real Madrid.

Well, in the battle between IPL and the ICL, BCCI’s strong-hand tactics ensured that the IPL trumped the ICL. But in the case of European football, the equations are far more complex, fates more entwined. If the ‘super-clubs’ need UEFA for valuable money and ‘recognition’ in form of their brand enhancement, then UEFA needs them for the sponsorships and ticket sales which will enable it to function efficiently. The Champions League final is made bigger by the teams involved. Be it the all England final Moscow final, or an intriguing El-Classico Semi-final, these are the matchups which make the normal fan sit- up and take notice. Thus UEFA needs to be a little careful before implementing their ‘stringent- measures’, lest these clubs break away to form a super-league of their own. And dwelling on past experiences, in 1992 a certain PREMER LEAGUE had been established, and look where it stands now dwarfing the FA by its giant presence.

The Platini-led UEFA has always been an advocate for reduced disparity between clubs (especially between the ones belonging to the big and smaller leagues) and we all would love to see football prosper in these nations. But let’s not forget that we all enjoy the under-dog’s day out. Thus fairytale cup runs are embedded in footballing folk-fore, they bring back a certain romanticism back into the game.

But the fan would rather see a DAVID vs GOLIATH, or a GOLIATH vs GOLIATH, rather than two DAVIDS fighting it out for the pinnacle in club football. Fans are as it is displeased with sky-rocketing ticket prices and changes proposed in the EURO CUP from 2016, thus UEFA needs should tread cautiously lest they alienate the fans.

The FFP can effectively act as a double-edged sword, while the future of our game hangs in the balance, we can only pray to the GODS.