Taylor To Head Up New Uefa Marketing Company
In giving the green light for a new set of financial regulations for European football clubs, UEFA also announced that general secretary David Taylor is to step down from his current post to head up the European football governing body’s newly created marketing company.
The UEFA Executive Committee reviewed the structure of UEFA’s marketing and commercial operations and approved the creation of a new company wholly owned by European football’s governing body. The new company will be responsible for all UEFA’s business and commercial operations.
Taylor, the former chief executive of the Scottish FA, will move to the new UEFA company on 1st October and will be succeeded by his deputy, Gianni Infantino, an Italian lawyer who has worked for UEFA since 2000 and most recently has steered through plans for financial reforms of European football.
Taylor, who has a business background, was appointed following Michel Platini’s successful campaign to become UEFA president in 2007 but has come under pressure recently over suggestions that he favoured Scottish club Celtic in the recent furore over an alleged diving incident involving Arsenal striker Eduardo.
The announcement regarding Taylor’s move was made at an UEFA executive committee meeting during which the governing body also unveiled new plans to prevent clubs from spending more than they make from their revenues and curb billionaire owners investing huge amounts of money.
The new rules will be in place from the 2012/13 season and clubs could be thrown out of European competition if they do not abide by the regulations.
Platini commented: ‘We don’t want to kill or hurt the clubs. On the contrary, we want to help them in the market. The teams who play in our tournaments have unanimously agreed to our principles.
‘Living within your means is the basis of accounting but it hasn’t been the basis of football for years now. The owners are asking for rules because they can’t implement them themselves, many of them have had it with shovelling money into clubs and the more money you put into clubs, the harder it is to sell at a profit.
‘I think a lot of owners would like to sell at the moment but can’t because of the line of business they are in.
‘Fifty per cent of clubs are losing money and this is an increasing trend. We needed to stop this downward spiral. They have spent more than they have earned in the past and haven’t paid their debts.’
The Club Financial Control Panel, which has been formed to oversee the introduction of the new rules, will be led by former Belgium prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene.
Platini has been pressing for measures which would ensure clubs live within their means. The plan had already been approved by the European Club Association, which represents Europe’s clubs.
England’s Premier League also brought in new financial rules this week, which includes the requirement of each club to provide annual accounts by 1st March every year to show that it does not have outstanding tax debts, or debts to other clubs.
