Soccer needs to be on EU treatment table

By Martin Banks

Date: 05/02/04

A DUTCH Liberal MEP has prescribed his cure for tackling a "sick" patient - European soccer's finances.

Clubs throughout Europe face an estimated €7 billion debt mountain and Toine Manders says the financial misery facing many of them has partially been caused by the "disregard" of European policymakers.

He says: "European football is sick and needs an urgent remedy.

"Although Community law formally applies to professional football, the European Commission has so far shown a reluctance towards intervening due to the political sensitivity of the subject matter.

"This "soft" approach, however, has caused a lot of damage."

Manders suggests one possible solution would be for the EU to champion a club licensing scheme from the Netherlands which, he believes, has helped Dutch clubs steer clear of the financial problems currently facing many others.

Under the scheme, clubs must demonstrate to the Dutch Football Association (DFA) that they are financially solvent before they are licensed to participate each season.

If the DFA is not satisfied a club has the finances to meet its season-long costs, it can refuse to issue a licence.

To date, there have been no such refusals, but Manders says the threat is enough to act as an incentive to clubs to get their finances in order.

"Dutch football clubs are currently about €80 million in debt, which is significantly less than the €2 billion owed by clubs in Spain and Italy alone," says Manders.

"This proves the effectiveness of the Dutch system, which has been in force for some time now."

Manders, a member of the Parliament's internal market committee, is now calling on the Commission to introduce a similar scheme across Europe.

"There are plans to pilot the scheme, which is a start, but this a problem which needs urgent and drastic action now."

Dutch MEP Toine Manders has proposed a scheme to tackle the debt mountain faced by European football clubs. He suggests that the European Union could adopt a Dutch club licensing scheme whereby clubs must prove they are financially solvent before they are licensed to participate each season.