ABSTRACT

Research question

In response to the low profitability of European football clubs, in 2010, UEFA established its Financial Fair Play regulation (FFP) to encourage clubs not to spend more than they earn. We examine whether FFP’s break-even rule has increased the profitability of football clubs.

Research methods

: We use data from the top five European football leagues (those of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) over the period 2008–2016. Our sample includes 1,094 club-year observations (139 different clubs). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and profit before tax (PBT) margins are used as profitability measures. The impact of FFP is estimated using the Generalized Estimation Equations (GEE), logistic regressions, and fixed effects OLS models. We control for both domestic and European competition success, leverage, club size, and country/club fixed effects.

Results and Findings

In the pre-FFP period, roughly 70 percent of observations are losses, whereas in the post-FFP period, roughly 60 percent of observations are losses. However, the estimated positive effect is significant only in Spain, while for England and Germany we find weak evidence. We cannot rule out that the observed improvement in performance is simply caused by the recovery from the financial crisis. The effect of FFP is insignificant in France and Italy.

Implications

The effect of FFP on clubs’ profitability has been at best modest. We call upon UEFA and its member associations and leagues to expand their efforts to enforce the break-even rule or to reassess the efficiency of current FFP requirements.

中文翻译：

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欧足联的财务公平竞赛规则是否增加了足球俱乐部的盈利能力？

摘要

研究问题

针对欧洲足球俱乐部盈利能力低下的问题，欧足联于 2010 年制定了财务公平竞赛规则（FFP），以鼓励俱乐部不要花费超过收入。我们研究 FFP 的盈亏平衡规则是否增加了足球俱乐部的盈利能力。

研究方法

：我们使用了 2008-2016 年期间欧洲排名前五的足球联赛（英格兰、法国、德国、意大利和西班牙）的数据。我们的样本包括 1,094 个俱乐部年的观察结果（139 个不同的俱乐部）。息税前利润 (EBIT) 和税前利润 (PBT) 利润率用作衡量盈利能力的指标。使用广义估计方程 (GEE)、逻辑回归和固定效应 OLS 模型估计 FFP 的影响。我们控制了国内和欧洲比赛的成功、杠杆、俱乐部规模和国家/俱乐部固定效应。

结果和发现

在 FFP 之前的时期，大约 70% 的观察是损失，而在 FFP 之后的时期，大约 60% 的观察是损失。然而，估计的积极影响仅在西班牙显着，而对于英格兰和德国，我们发现证据不足。我们不能排除观察到的业绩改善仅仅是从金融危机中复苏造成的。FFP的影响在法国和意大利是微不足道的。

影响

FFP 对俱乐部盈利能力的影响充其量只是适度的。我们呼吁欧足联及其成员协会和联盟加大力度执行收支平衡规则或重新评估当前 FFP 要求的效率。