UEFA have announced a financing deal with Citi bank allowing them to give €2bn to clubs, helping them to cover the losses from COVID-19, and in turn resisting the European Super League revival.
The idea had been in the works since August, as reported by the New York Times, and was confirmed today in a statement by UEFA.
Amid an attempt to revive the European Super League project, UEFA have stepped in with the European Club Association (ECA) to set up the European Club Football Recovery Plan.
It will start with an estimated amount of €2bn, but is expected to grow over time, becoming operational as early as Spring 2022.
“The objective of this financing programme is to structurally improve the financial stability of the European football clubs through leveraging UEFA’s club competition media rights revenues,” read the statement.
“The programme is intended to benefit top divisions European clubs subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria. These will include financial and sporting parameters, as well as compliance with club licensing and financial fair play regulations.
“The programme will provide eligible clubs with a stable source of funding at competitive rates over a long period of time, thus establishing a framework for future football funding.”
Unlike the financing deal set up by LaLiga with CVC, there is no equity changing hands here, so UEFA are essentially using future club competition revenues as security.
There are also plans mentioned to restructure existing transfer fees, so allowing them to spread the cost of transfer operations over a longer period of time.
That is a technique that many Serie A clubs, above all Juventus, are already dealing with, for example the number of loan with obligation to buy deals in the Italian market.
The European Football Recovery Plan would draw on club competition revenues to give greater financial security to eligible clubs and ease COVID-19’s economic hit.
The plan would be subject to stricter UEFA club licensing and financial play regulations.
More information: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) December 16, 2021
“The programme will provide eligible clubs with a stable source of funding at competitive rates over a long period of time, thus establishing a framework for future football funding.”
AT COMPETATIVE RATES.
Uefa want your clubs in their competition generating tv revenue for uefa, so that they can loan your clubs money that has to be paid back plus interest. You just cant make this up
UEFA don’t understand the situation, the premiership make £4b over three years, Serie A TV deal is worth £1.1b. No one can compete with the English clubs, it ridiculous…
@Danny, how is this UEFA’s fault? How can you dictate what a network will pay a league for their TV rights? How will a “Super League” fix that? Won’t English clubs compete in that league and still compete in the EPL? Maybe Brexit the EPL and ban their clubs from participating in the Champions League?
PEOPLE, the issue here is clubs continuing to operate outside of their financial parameters and someone (banks? billionaires? local FAs?) bank rolling them when they’re in the red. All that needs to happen is for a couple of clubs the size of Barcelona or Juventus to go bankrupt at get relegated to the bottom of the pyramid for the world of football to start realizing it can’t operated 100s of millions in the red. Just stop bailing them out. Let the market to its work. FFS.
It not UEFA’s fault, if anything it’s the Italian league’s fault for poor management. However the gap between the premiership and the rest of Europe is widening. Look at Liverpool reserves beating Milan! Until you address this issue the European super league will always be on the table.
BLABLABLA…
Super League to cause some disruption after the rules have been adjusted according to popular demand.
It`s about time UEFA decide if they are a body to regulate football rules or to organize competitions.
Even in the superleague plans, some clubs get more money, therefore they have a financial advantage that grows every year, sweep up the best players and you will have a Bayern type team dominating.
Milan, arsenal become whipping boys, so it will be la Liga but on a European scale.
If a two even four division euro League is created with everyone from Celtic, dynamo Zagreb, Ajax is included with equal distribution of TV rights money across each league would work
@jon your right it needs to be equal playing field if it wants to work and not just bail out the 3 teams still in it it also needs to be open to promotion and relegation