CASH-STRAPPED football clubs, hard-pressed to meet UEFA solvency criteria, have kicked off a campaign to secure additional financial aid from the government.
Their haste was understandable, given that clubs have until May to get their accounts in order. Failure to attain the financial standards set by UEFA will result in crippling sanctions, most notably disbarment from European football competitions as of the 2003-2004 season. If UEFA gets serious, non-compliant clubs could even be prohibited from making foreign signings.
Cypriot clubs, traditionally the underdogs in the Champions League and UEFA Cup, have in recent years visibly improved. More recently, defending champions APOEL of Nicosia showed they can mix it in the UEFA Cup. Participation in European competitions naturally means a great deal of cash for clubs – ticket sales plus broadcasting rights-although some would argue there are political gains for the country as well.
Europe’s top football organisation has laid out criteria in five main fields that football clubs must adhere to: sporting, finances, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, and legal issues.
UEFA states that the aim of its financial criteria are to strengthen the economic and financial capacity of the clubs, increase their transparency and credibility, and place the necessary importance on the protection of creditors. The infrastructure criteria – the other thorny issue for Cypriot clubs – include local authority safety certificates for the stadium, an approved evacuation plan, a minimum capacity of 3,000 seats, a first aid room, suitable media facilities and a playing field of natural grass or artificial turf of a designated size.
Cypriot Division 1 football clubs, some of them heavily debt-ridden, will have their work cut out complying with these standards in the immediate future, and have turned to the government for financial assistance. They are asking for £5 million yearly; initial reports suggested that clubs had also asked for £20 million in loans at low interest rates, but football powerbrokers yesterday said this was probably not a consideration anymore.
Other demands include clubs’ exemption from paying VAT, income tax and social security. The key here is the parliament, which can approve and allocate funds and institute special legislation.
The lobbying started yesterday, with the presidents of Division 1 clubs and senior KOP [Cyprus Football Association] officials meeting with House Speaker Demetris Christofias. No commitments were made after the meet, but KOP said it would be making an announcement later today. It was not clear yesterday the association would be making a decision, but a source told the Cyprus Mail that “things were looking good” for the clubs.
Following the meeting with Christofias, KOP president Costakis Koutsokoumnis clarified that the association was not asking the government to pay for clubs’ accumulated debts. He noted that the issue “must be resolved by March or April at the latest, otherwise Cyprus’ football might not be represented in Europe at all.” As he conceded, “none of the 14 First Division clubs currently satisfy UEFA criteria.”
Although Koutsokoumnis said the House Speaker was “firmly on KOP’s side,” he added that this season the government’s financial aid had dropped from £1.3 million to one million pounds. Of this sum, approximately £400,000 were allocated to policing the stadia.
That raises the question of whether the government will be willing to make the big jump to £5 million. But there are other complications; not all clubs are in agreement as to how government funds should be shared out. It is estimated that, in total, First Division clubs have £10 million in debts, but the lion’s share falls to a small minority. One Famagusta club reportedly owes £4 million, and Nicosia powerhouses APOEL and Omonia reportedly are both one million pounds in the red.
Barring a decision today, KOP officials and club representatives will next be meeting with KISOS party chairman and presidential candidate Yiannakis Omirou on 20 January. The lobbying coincides with the run-up to the national elections, with pundits suggesting this is the best time for football powerbrokers to get what they want from the government.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
