UEFA's Executive Committee unanimously approved a financial fair play concept for the game's well-being in September 2009 and on 27 May 2010 approved the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations Edition 2010, in the presence and with the full support of the European Club Association chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The concept, which has been supported by everyone around football, looks at the long as well as short-term health of club football and individual clubs. In particular, the objectives aim to introduce more discipline within club finances and encourage responsible spending and investment.
Financial fair play is a key point in the 11 values of the UEFA president presented at the UEFA Congress in Copenhagen in March 2009.
Despite a background of huge and increasing public and commercial interest in European club football over the last decade, many clubs across Europe are in poor financial health, struggling to meet their financial responsibilities and commitments, and reporting repeated financial losses. UEFA has a duty to consider the systemic environment of European club football in which individual clubs compete, in particular, the wider inflationary impact of clubs’ spending on salaries and player transfer fees and increasing levels of indebtedness across European club football, as the Club Licensing Benchmarking Report shows.
Therefore, as requested by and in consultation with the football family, UEFA has aimed to develop sensible and achievable club monitoring requirements to supplement the existing club licensing criteria, in order to safeguard the sustainability of European club football.
To supplement and complement the former UEFA Club Licensing Regulations, the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, comprising both club licensing criteria and club monitoring requirements derived from the financial fair play concept, entered into force on 1 June 2010, with the various financial fair play