The LFP’s measures are well received

Wednesday saw the Liga de Fútbol Profesional present the results of the budgetary measures to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport as well as the Superior Sports Board. These measures have been applied to professional football clubs over the past two years. Present at the meeting were José Ignacio Wert, representing the ministry; Miguel Cardenal, the Sports Secretary of State; Liga de Fútbol Profesional president, Javier Tebas; vice-presidents Clemente Villaverde and Víctor Manuel Martín, as well as the director general of the LFP, Javier Gómez. 

The minister José Ignacio Wert praised the close partnership between the LFP and the CSD, and both entities’ efforts to ensure the health of Spanish professional football. He also stressed that the objectives set after signing the Convention on the 25th of April 2012 “have been more than met”. 

“The Ministry and the Superior Sports Board welcome the move towards economic balance in Spanish football. We are on the right path which has seen a substantial drop in the amount of debt clubs owe to the Inland Revenue. This progress is down to the transparent and rigorous nature with which these budgetary controls have been applied. This has had a very positive effect on the competition”, a satisfied Minister Wert declared before professing himself a fan of Spanish football. 

Following on from Minister Wert, the LFP president Javier Tebas took to the floor to speak of the sustainability measures taken by the professional football bodies. “We have to continue this work. This is the first feedback, and it is very positive. But we must keep at it so that in four or five years time the situation is even better. We won’t fail”, Tebas affirmed before predicting that these measures will have a positive effect on professional football as a whole. 

“By the end of this season the debt will have been reduced by about €300 million. And our plan is that by the 2017/18 season the debt will have dropped from €2.7 billion to €2 billion. With that figure in mind, we consider Spanish football to be sustainable”, the LFP president announced in a press conference after the meeting. 

Meanwhile, the Sports Secretary of State, Miguel Cardenal, expressed his satisfaction at the reduction in club debt caused by last spring’s Convention. “The figures show a reduction of about €150 million in the amount owed to the Inland Revenue, which has helped halt the downward trend over the past few years. The objectives have been reached and today’s figures are very significant”, Cardenal declared. In this regard the president of the LFP pointed out that “clubs have an obligation to pay the Inland Revenue” and the majority of them are keeping up with their payments and reducing their debt. 

The meeting was seen as a success by both parties and the LFP will continue to work with the Ministry to ensure the best is being done for Spanish football.