UEFA’s recent Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play workshop in Dublin highlighted the positive impact of UEFA’s measures to safeguard club football’s financial stability.
The annual event brings together all 54 UEFA member associations, and this year some 140 participants attended the two-and-a-half-day event which was opened by the CEO of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), John Delaney. The welcome speech was followed by a keynote address from the chairman of the UEFA Club Licensing Committee, David Gill, who stressed the important role that national associations have played in embracing club licensing and financial fair play, and noted that close collaboration with the clubs, good governance and rigorous financial regulation will be of benefit to all stakeholders.
The continual evolution of the system was highlighted through the results of a survey of national supporter liaison officer (SLO) coordinators, which demonstrated the positive impact on supporter relations since the SLO requirement was first introduced into club licensing. SLO project consultant Stuart Dykes presented the findings to the assembled delegates.
Under Article 35 of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, clubs across Europe were required to appoint an SLO before the beginning of the 2012/13 season in order to ensure a proper and constructive discourse with their fans. Article 35 is the result of detailed talks between European football’s governing body and SD Europe, and was announced in July 2010. UEFA then appointed SD Europe to facilitate the introduction of the new requirement.
To find out more about the SLO project, visit the dedicated SLO section of this website and follow @SuppLiaison on Twitter.