By Zac Rowell
A few years ago a rule called financial fair play was introduced to the Premier League. This rule, although made with noble intentions to promote financial sustainability, has begun to ruin the beautiful game of football and limit the amount of ‘edge of your seat’ moments. One of the many clubs being affected by this rule is Newcastle United. Many believe that the FFP rule must be changed in order for the Premier League to keep its status of the best league in the world.
These people believe that the essence of football lies in its unpredictability, its ability to inspire dreams and unite communities and think that the current state of affairs with FFP threatens to annihilate this spirit, creating a rift between the elite big 6 clubs and the rest. This means that clubs who are wealthy but don’t have much revenue are practically handcuffed, unable to spend as freely as other clubs and ergo forcing the clubs who are not in the big 6 to be left desperately trying to bridge the gap and the only way possible for them to attempt this is to receive huge influxes of cash for their best players.
For example, Newcastle United, a club with a rich history and passion find themselves in a unique predicament where, although they possess significant financial resources, they cannot spend them as clubs are not permitted to spend more than they earn. This has begun to pressure them into selling what many would class as their best players like Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak for more financial freedom. This means that the players who are thought to be the most exciting by the public could be shipped overseas to clubs in other leagues across the world for significant fees and they will no longer be seen playing in the Premier League. Most believe that this is harming the league as the so-called best league in the world is forcing the players that make it the best to go to other leagues and leaving the most likely lacklustre players still there. This issue is not only a problem for Newcastle as many other clubs are also being affected as Wolverhampton Wonderers may have to sell Pedro Neto, Nottingham Forest may be forced to sell Gibbs-White and a whole bunch of other clubs may have to sell their star players in order to stay within financial fair play rules.
The rules of FFP were conceived with noble intentions- to promote financial sustainability and prevent reckless spending, however by doing so many believe it has inadvertently fortified the dominance of the clubs who already generate massive amounts of revenue, further establishing their place at the top of football hierarchy. This is thought to have created an imbalance, where the rich get richer and the others are left struggling and begun to undermine the sense of competition, demoting the smaller clubs to mere spectators in the race for glory.
There are a few ways that FFP could be tweaked in order to promote financial sustainability whilst also fostering competitiveness. One way could be consider long-term investments and revenue projections when assessing financial status. Another way could be to differentiate on rules between spending on player transfers and investments in infrastructure such as stadium upgrades, training facility upgrades and more. One more way FFP could be changed is that it could be implemented gradually to allow clubs to adapt their financial strategies instead of disrupting clubs operations.
Financial Fair Play could be tweaked in the future but as it stands it doesn't seem like it will change any time soon.
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