Análisis del impacto del concepto de juego limpio financiero en el modelo económico y competitivo del fútbol profesionalel caso de la primera división de la liga española y su comparación con la premier league inglesa

Abstract

General speaking, sports and football, specially, contribute to the well-being of the population, also generate economic growth and employment. Despite football’s success, professional clubs have had serious economic problems have jeopardized its solvency and financial viability. In this case, UEFA adopted a policy of economic control called Financial Fair Play, in order to correct it. In this way, the goal of this thesis has been to analyze the current situation of the economic and competitive model of professional football in Spain, and at the same time, to determine the impact that UEFA’s Financial Fair Play legislation could have in improving the financial situation and the economic viability of professional football. It has analyzed the case of the Spanish First Division League, considering Spain’s leadership amount UEFA European clubes and Real Madrid and Barcelona are at the highest level of the sporting and economic position. It has also compared with the English Premier league, considering that England’s position as the birthplace of modern football, making it the European leader league economically and at sports level. This research has covered seven seasons from 2007/08 to 2013/2014. The methodology used has been a result of the analysis of economic developments in the Spanish League and in the Premier League, through P&L statement and Balance sheet for each of the 20 clubs witch have participated in each of the seven seasons. After that, several econometric models have been created, in order to verify whether the economic variables of the clubs determine the competitive position thereof. Finally, the Gini index, has established the degree of economic and competitive inequality amount Spanish League and Premier League. In conclusión, it has been determin that professional football clubs have TV broadcasting rights and commercials as their main source of income, so in that professional football has become a main source of entertainment. Despite the strong increase in revenues, only the implementation of the Financial Fair Play has made posible to control their expenses (Break-even requirement) and reduce debt, improving their sustainability and financial viability. However, it has not been able to reduce the big economic disparities between the big Spanish clubs and the rest. As the same time, this situation is causing a high competitive disparity in favor of the bigs Spanish clubs.