Main Article Content

Pedro Garcia-del-Barrio
Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Spain
Giambattista Rossi
Birkbeck University of London
United Kingdom
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2020), Articles, pages 119-142
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17979/ejge.2020.9.2.5842
Submitted: Dec 14, 2019 Accepted: Feb 20, 2020 Published: Jul 24, 2020
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Abstract

Institutional and legal reforms applied in the context of sports competitions often provoke structural changes that can be empirically investigated. Using a data set of 560 observations (20 teams per season, from 2009/10 to 2015/16, of teams playing in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1), this paper examines how the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations may have altered the football clubs’ decisions concerning their sport and financial priorities. Moreover, based on a simple theoretical description, the paper shows that the increasing financial stability promoted by the FFP rules might actually imply – as an undesired side effect – a declined competitive balance affecting the European football leagues. Finally, the paper discusses some policy issues and recommendations.

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