Since the early 2000s, the Italian Football Association (FIGC) has adopted a “Clearing House” mechanism to regulate the flow of payments related to the transfers of players between national clubs. It aims to monitor and ensure the fulfilment of payments’ obligations and so to ease the cash flow, in particular through the introduction of mandatory compensation and the provision of specific financial guarantees.
This paper will illustrate the functioning of the FIGC Clearing House and analyse it also on a comparative basis with the forthcoming FIFA Clearing House and with the systems in force in the other main European Associations.
It will also address the recent operational issues caused by the extension of the application of the FIFA solidarity mechanism to national transfers with international relevance, a provision that has not yet been incorporated in the FIGC Regulations.
Looking through the earthquake generated by last month’s announcement of the creation of an independent Super League by twelve of the richest football clubs in the richest football environment of the world, and carefully exploring the reasons that led to such a revolutionary project, one assumption is clear to anyone: clubs’ financial stability is in danger.
Don’t be mistaken. It has long been so in modern football, with COVID-19 only acting as a propellant on a process that looks almost irreversible.
The issue has been under the spotlight, particularly in the Italian landscape, which has witnessed, only starting from the 2002-2003 season, more than 150 bankruptcies among professional football clubs, including those of historic clubs such as Fiorentina, Napoli, Torino and...
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