The UEFA Executive Committee approved in September 2009, unanimously, a concept of “fair-play” for the financial well-being of the sport. The concept has also received the support of the entire football family, being its main goals as follows:
• introduce more discipline and rationality in club football finances;
• cut the pressure on wages and transfer funds and limit the inflationary effect;
• encourage clubs to compete only with values of their revenues;
• encourage long-term investment in youth football and infrastructure;
• protect the long term viability of European football;
• make sure that clubs solve their financial problems on time.
The UEFA Executive Committee approved and made official the appointment of members of the Board of Financial Control UEFA Club (CFCB) for a term ending on June 30, 2015. The CFCB recently replaced the Financial Control Panel UEFA Club that was created after the 2009 decision.
The CFCB consists of an investigative House, led by a main investigator, for phases of research procedures, and an adjudicatory Chamber for the trial phase of the proceedings, led by the President of CFCB.
The functions of the CFCB are to oversee the implementation of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations System. The CFCB may apply disciplinary sanctions and their final decisions may be appealed directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, located in Lausanne.
Equally important, the CFCB is competent to impose disciplinary measures in case of non-compliance with requirements and decide cases concerning the eligibility of clubs for the UEFA club competitions.
The CFCB has as president, since October 8th 2012, José Narciso da Cunha Rodrigues, former Attorney General of the Portuguese Republic.
As part of the first measure of the financial fair play requirements included in the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations 2012, the clubs participating in 2012/13 UEFA club competitions had to provide information regarding the status of any overdue payable as at 30 June 2012. Following its last meeting in August 2012, the CFCB investigatory chamber has identified that important overdue payable towards other clubs, and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities existed in 23 cases.
Therefore, the CFCB’s investigatory chamber, chaired by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, has decided in September 11th 2012 that those 23 would be subject to cautionary measures that consisted in their prize money payment being temporarily withheld pending further investigation
These cases involved the following 23 clubs:
| BIH FK Borac Banja Luka | MNE FK Budućnost Podgorica |
| BIH FK Sarajevo | MNE FK Rudar Pjevlja |
| BIH FK Željezničar | POL Ruch Chorzów |
| BUL PFC CSKA Sofia | POR Sporting Clube de Portugal |
| CRO HNK Hajduk Split | ROU FC Dinamo Bucureşti |
| CRO NK Osijek | ROU FC Rapid Bucureşti |
| ESP Club Atlético de Madrid | ROU FC Vaslui |
| ESP Málaga CF | RUS FC Rubin Kazan |
| ISR Maccabi Netanya FC | SRB FK Partizan |
| MKD FK Shkendija 79 | SRB FK Vojvodina |
| MLT Floriana FC | TUR Eskişehirspor |
| TUR Fenerbahçe SK |
After investigations by the CFCB investigatory chamber and based on new information provided by the clubs to chamber research until September 30th, 16 of the 23 clubs who had seen suspended cash prizes of UEFA club competition in 2012/13 saw the suspension lifted last Friday (November 30th) since the CFCB concluded that such clubs currently meet all financial requirements required.
Those 16 clubs were:
FK Željezničar (BIH), FK Sarajevo (BIH), FK Borac Banja Luka (BiH), PFC CSKA Sofia (BUL), Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) , Maccabi Netanya FC (ISR), FK Shkendija 79 (MKD), Floriana FC (MLT), FK Budućnost Podgorica (MNE), FK Rudar Pjevlja (MNE), Ruch Chorzów (POL), Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR), FC Vaslui (ROU), FC Rubin Kazan (RUS), Fenerbahçe SK (TUR) and Eskişehirspor (TUR).
The chamber decided to research refer cases involving HNK Hajduk Split (CRO), NK Osijek (CRO), Málaga CF (ESP), FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU), FC Dinamo Bucureşti (ROU), FK Partizan (SRB) and FK Vojvodina (SRB) for the chamber contentious that the necessary actions are taken.
Moreover, the camera research refers to two additional clubs, KKS Lech Poznan (POL) and FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR), for chamber contentious, since in these cases the accounts worsened between the deadlines for June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012. The prize money for both clubs had not been withdrawn due to the level of its debts by paying 30 June 2012.
