LONDON (AP)—The Premier League took steps Monday to rein in clubs’ spending by limiting player purchases and approving more strict financial oversight.
Clubs will only be allowed to have to 17 non-homegrown players, and the Premier League will take temporary control of teams that run into money trouble.
The 20 topflight teams will have to include eight players registered with either an English or Welsh club for three years before their 21st birthdays, which could hold down spending sprees financed by debt and improve player development.
The new measures were approved by the clubs at a meeting last week and took effect Monday.
But the regulation, which partly replicates European soccer’s current requirements for Champions League clubs, does not discriminate on nationality. That means teams can continue to sign young foreign players.
“It encourages the promotion of young players but—and we don’t apologize for it—it goes nowhere near a nationality test because we don’t believe that’s right or legal,”—Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.
All 20 topflight clubs will have to submit annual financial returns by March 31, and Premier League officials will be able to check that clubs have no debts to other teams or owe taxes.
However, the financial controls fall short of UEFA’s planned requirement for Champions League entry starting in 2012 that clubs must break even and spend only what they earn from soccer-related income such as ticket sales, sponsorship and television deals.
Scudamore says that is unfeasible and English clubs would oppose the plans, which were to be discussed further Tuesday at an executive committee meeting of European soccer’s governing body.
“They are ratifying concepts at this point, no one has seen the manual that contains any of this,” Scudamore said. “I can’t imagine our clubs, from the discussions we’ve had around our table, will be signing up to the detail. They may well be signed up to the principle, or making more noise about the principle, but they won’t be signing up to the detail if it comes to an absolute regulation of their income.”
I count about 16 "home-grown" players in our squad, super! I wonder if any teams will struggle. Arse, Chelsea and the RS springs to mind and its a bit unfair they didnt stick Scotland and Ireland in, seems silly to just have Wales.
Clubs will only be allowed to have to 17 non-homegrown players, and the Premier League will take temporary control of teams that run into money trouble.
The 20 topflight teams will have to include eight players registered with either an English or Welsh club for three years before their 21st birthdays, which could hold down spending sprees financed by debt and improve player development.
The new measures were approved by the clubs at a meeting last week and took effect Monday.
But the regulation, which partly replicates European soccer’s current requirements for Champions League clubs, does not discriminate on nationality. That means teams can continue to sign young foreign players.
“It encourages the promotion of young players but—and we don’t apologize for it—it goes nowhere near a nationality test because we don’t believe that’s right or legal,”—Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said.
All 20 topflight clubs will have to submit annual financial returns by March 31, and Premier League officials will be able to check that clubs have no debts to other teams or owe taxes.
However, the financial controls fall short of UEFA’s planned requirement for Champions League entry starting in 2012 that clubs must break even and spend only what they earn from soccer-related income such as ticket sales, sponsorship and television deals.
Scudamore says that is unfeasible and English clubs would oppose the plans, which were to be discussed further Tuesday at an executive committee meeting of European soccer’s governing body.
“They are ratifying concepts at this point, no one has seen the manual that contains any of this,” Scudamore said. “I can’t imagine our clubs, from the discussions we’ve had around our table, will be signing up to the detail. They may well be signed up to the principle, or making more noise about the principle, but they won’t be signing up to the detail if it comes to an absolute regulation of their income.”
I count about 16 "home-grown" players in our squad, super! I wonder if any teams will struggle. Arse, Chelsea and the RS springs to mind and its a bit unfair they didnt stick Scotland and Ireland in, seems silly to just have Wales.
