No FFP for West Ham and co with new UEFA financial rules announced and effective immediately

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There is no more FFP for West Ham and co with new UEFA financial rules announced and effective immediately.

Last year Hammers News reported that West Ham were set to get more freedom when it comes to spending as UEFA planned on scrapping its existing Financial Fair Play controls.

West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have in the past been accused by some fans of using FFP as an excuse not to spend big to try and elevate West Ham to the fated ‘next level’.

David Moyes has managed to do that with – among other things – a much more considered approach to recruitment over the last two years.

But it is clear West Ham will have to spend some money to sustain their challenge to the top six let alone look to go even further.

It is hoped the arrival of Czech billionaire investor Daniel Kretinsky as West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder will help.

Back in 2013 – one year after promotion back to the Premier League – West Ham threw their full backing behind spending controls including FFP and restrictions on salary increases.

“We have all voted and it was overwhelmingly supported, not by all the clubs – some are a little concerned – but the vast majority of the clubs voted in favour,” West Ham co-owner Gold told The Evening Standard back in 2013.

Clubs signed up to the new rules – with UEFA’s own FFP coming into force a year later – which dictated they would also be restricted by how much they will be allowed to increase their wage bills.

Gold added: “It’s not a salary cap, it’s a restraint on over-spending. It’s not a cap – it’s a restraint.

“If clubs increase their revenues then they can increase their spending. We have got restraint, that’s the important thing. What’s driving the whole thing is we’ve got to avoid another Portsmouth.”

UEFA have been planning to get rid of FFP regulations for the last year in order to allow clubs greater control over their finances (Daily Mail, Gazzetta dello Sport).

Now there is no FFP for West Ham and co with new UEFA financial rules announced and effective immediately.

Well it is certainly not FFP as clubs knew it anyway.

The new regulations are explained in depth by the excellent football business account Swiss Ramble.

UEFA’s new measures are effective as of this month.

President Aleksander Ceferin explained: “The evolution of the football industry, alongside the inevitable financial effects of the pandemic, has shown the need for wholesale reform and new regulations.”

UEFA director Andrea Traverso noted: “Competitive imbalance cannot be addressed simply by financial regulations. It must be addressed in combination with other measures. This is why we changed the name. The name fair play was interpreted as creating a level playing field.”

Instead of FFP, the focus is on the financial sustainability of clubs with three key pillars being monitored: solvency, stability and cost control.

You can take a look at the new regulations in more detail on the Swiss Ramble Twitter thread here.