Professional Football (Regulation)

Those people did not want to relinquish the power of football to independence. They wanted a board in relation to which there would be the professional game, the national game and good quality independence that could take an objective view and break the stalemate. That is effectively what we have got—the professional game on one side and the amateur game on the other. We have got the status quo, but that is not good enough. If hon. Members look at the Burns report—I do not have time to deal with it now—they will find that it is a very interesting read. They need to look at what Burns said and where we are now. On the Arnaut report, I met all the chief executives of the premier league in 2006 and told them that there were excesses. I paid tribute to the premier league and told them that it was the most successful league in the world—it is, by any standards, the best in every conceivable way—but I also said that there were structural weaknesses and excesses. I told the chief executives that they must start to address those excesses in the light of good regulation, and that if they did not actually get into Europe and start influencing the way in which sport and football were regulated, there would be problems down the road. There were problems down the road and the chickens are coming home to roost. If the chief executives had taken action at that time, we would not be in the state we are now. UEFA was also affected by Arnaut. I will talk briefly about the club licensing system and financial fair play, which will be implemented in Europe in the next two to three years. The six points in the specific objectives for the club licensing system are"““Introduce more discipline and rationality in the club football finances; encourage clubs to compete with their revenues; decrease pressure on player's salaries and transfer fees and limit inflationary effect; ensure clubs settle their liabilities on a timely basis; encourage clubs' long term investments (infrastructure, youth); protect long-term viability and sustainability of European club football.””" The proposed measures are the break-even rule, which relates to the financial fair play concept, as well as the"““enhanced overdue payable rule; cash flow analysis; guidance on salaries and transfer spending; guidance on level of debts; limit the number of professional players.””" Those measures will have to be implemented by clubs, and if they are not, those clubs cannot play in the European competitions. I pay tribute to what UEFA has done at a European level. It is acting with more certainty now because, in the Lisbon treaty, sport has for the first time got a legal base. We can therefore, with some justification, go to the Commission and the Council and say that we want the matter to be considered much more effectively. UEFA has found a level of certainty in Europe. FIFA is applying the ““six plus five”” rule, so I believe that regulation, both internationally and at a European level, is finding its feet and being implemented. Finally, if the FA follows through and implements the Burns report, we will have the type of regulation that we need in this country. We have got such regulation through Europe, and we will get it again through FIFA.