Impact of transfer laws on small clubs

1. Financial Fair Play (FFP)

Financial Fair Play (FFP) was introduced by UEFA in 2011 to prevent clubs from spending beyond their financial capacity. The main goal of FFP is to ensure that football teams spend within their income and do not rely too much on outside investments. Clubs must maintain financial stability, thereby creating sustainability for the European football system.

For small clubs, FFP offers certain benefits. This regulation forces football teams to control spending, avoiding falling into debt and bankruptcy as happened to many football teams in the 2000s. In particular, small clubs are less at risk of being “insolvent”. devaluation” by big football teams, when big football teams cannot spend without limit.

However, a big negative point that FFP brings to small teams is the limitation in competing with big clubs. Big teams have much larger revenues from television rights, sponsorship and ticket sales, so they can spend heavily to recruit top players. On the contrary, small clubs do not have equivalent financial resources, making it difficult to retain excellent players, causing a large difference in strength between large and small teams.

2. Talent Bleeding

One of the biggest negative impacts of transfer laws on small clubs is the bleeding of talent. Talented young players are often attracted to big clubs with higher salaries and the opportunity to play in major tournaments such as the Champions League. This makes it difficult for small clubs to retain bright talents, while also reducing their ability to compete in domestic tournaments.

Big football teams often have a global talent search network. Young players from Asia, Africa, or South America, even when playing for small clubs, can be discovered and recruited very early. For example, Premier League teams like Manchester City or Chelsea have programs to hunt for young talent around the world, not just in Europe.

For example, in the case of Cesc Fabregas, from Barcelona’s La Masia academy, he moved to Arsenal when he was 16 years old, and became a bright star at the English team. Arsenal, a big club, has taken advantage of transfer rules to attract talented young players from smaller teams and turn them into big stars. This is also an example of the situation that many small clubs face when they lose promising talent before they can establish themselves in their original team.

3. Player Development Benefits

One of the benefits that transfer laws bring to small clubs is player development benefits. According to FIFA regulations, when a player is transferred internationally, the teams that trained him will receive a portion of the transfer fee, called the player development fee. This helps small teams gain revenue from training and developing young talent, even if they cannot retain players long term.

This policy is especially useful for small clubs and teams from less developed football countries. A typical example is the case of South American clubs. Teams in Brazil and Argentina often produce a lot of talent, but most of these players will move to play for European clubs in search of greater opportunities. When these players are transferred, the original teams still receive a development fee, thereby helping them continue to invest in youth training.

However, the amount of money from development fees is often not large enough to help small clubs maintain competition at a high level. Although development rights bring in a certain amount of revenue, small teams still face a huge loss when they are unable to retain their top talent, and the majority of these clubs still have to rely on depends on selling players to survive.

4. Imbalance in the Transfer Market

The current football transfer market is often dominated by large clubs with strong financial resources. This creates an imbalance in the ability to recruit players between large and small clubs. Big teams not only have the ability to recruit talented players from small teams, but they also have the ability to hoard players, making it more difficult for small teams to find quality personnel. .

A prominent example of this imbalance is the fact that big clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG can buy reserve players at high prices that small teams cannot afford. When big teams buy players not only for immediate use but also for long-term investment, they unintentionally create a shortage of quality players in the market for small clubs.

Small teams often have to rely on the player loan system to supplement short-term forces. This benefits them in some cases, but it also creates a great dependence on big teams. When big clubs take back players after the loan season, small teams will lose important factors that they can hardly replace.

5. Player Buying and Loan System

The modern football transfer market includes not only the sale and purchase of players but also involves player loan agreements. Small clubs often use the loan system to supplement their squad without having to spend too much money on long-term contracts. This makes it possible for small teams to borrow potential players from big clubs and use them for a season or a short period of time.

However, some football experts have pointed out that this loan system could cause great dependence on big clubs. When a small team relies too much on loaned players, they will lack squad stability when the season ends and the players return to their parent team. Furthermore, many big clubs also have a strategy of loaning young players abroad to gain experience, instead of letting them play in the domestic league, which continues to reduce the ability to develop talent. at small clubs.

For example, in the Premier League, big teams like Chelsea are famous for their strategy of loaning out a series of young players. These players are often sent around Europe to develop, but at the same time reduce the opportunities for small English clubs to utilize young domestic talent. This creates division and difficulty in creating a more balanced football system.

6. The Importance of Training Children

Training young players is one of the important ways for small clubs to survive and compete in the professional football system. Many small clubs do not have the resources to compete in the international transfer market, so investing in youth training is a long-term strategy to help develop squads and retain local talent.

Some prominent clubs with youth training policies include Ajax Amsterdam, Atalanta and Sporting Lisbon. These clubs have succeeded in training and developing young players, then selling them at high prices to big teams. In many cases, investing in football academies has brought long-term financial benefits to small football teams, helping them continue to maintain sustainable development.

However, regulations of international transfer laws also make it difficult for clubs to retain talent. When a talented young player excels, big teams will be willing to offer higher salaries and more attractive conditions, making retaining the player an impossible task. This continues to widen the gap between big and small clubs.

Transfer Law

Transfer laws are already having a major impact on small clubs across the globe. Although there are some regulations to protect small football teams, such as Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws or player development rights, there are disparities in finance and power in recruiting players between clubs. Big and small clubs are still huge. Small clubs, in order to survive and remain competitive, often have to rely on developing young talent and using the loan system.

In the future, policy adjustments may be needed to help create more balance in football, to ensure that not only big clubs can compete for titles, but small teams also have the opportunity to rise. go up. The sustainable development of small clubs not only contributes to enhancing the quality of domestic football but also helps build a more equitable and attractive global football system.