Club Licensing & Financial Sustainability: Zoppis represents the FSGC in Rome

After three years of suspension due to the pandemic, the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Department has resumed organising its traditional annual workshop for heads of department from all European federations, held this year in collaboration with the FIGC and hosted in Rome from 4 to 7 October. ©FSGC | Andrea Zoppis Representing the FSGC was Deputy Licensing Manager Andrea Zoppis, who took part in three days of work during which the new Club Licensing regulations were presented, now partially renamed under the new term Financial Sustainability – replacing the previous Financial Fair Play. Among the main innovations in the sporting criteria is the inclusion, among the conditions for taking part in European Competitions, of topics relating to environmental sustainability and human rights, with the identification of specific mandatory professional roles. In addition, changes have been introduced in the management of youth teams and regarding the requirement for clubs to employ goalkeeping coaches with recognised specific qualifications. Finally, a new parallel set of regulations dedicated to women’s football was also presented – again under the umbrella of Club Licensing & Financial Sustainability. On the side of the financial criteria, even stricter controls on club expenditure have been introduced, with different requirements according to turnover, with the aim of achieving greater transparency in the European football system and minimising the participation in European competitions of clubs with serious financial issues. Further time was devoted to the analysis of clubs’ financial performance, both current and during the years marked by the pandemic, highlighting the concrete impact that Covid has had on football throughout Europe. Also present in the room were senior figures from the Italian Football Federation, namely President Gabriele Gravina and General Secretary Marco Brunelli, who welcomed all participants, the UEFA representatives and guests from other confederations, and concluded by outlining the situation of Italian football. Representatives of Roma and AC Milan then presented their Social and Environmental Responsibility plans, providing inspiration for federations that are starting to address this new topic within the Licensing Cycle – issues that are increasingly important in football as well, as demonstrated by the new strategy presented last month by the FSGC.

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