The UEFA's general secretary has made it clear that Champions League football could be on the line for clubs with big debts,
By Stefan Coerts
Jan 22, 2010 2:34:00 PM

UEFA president Michel Platini recently launched a 'financial fair play' initiative revolving around the idea that clubs should only spend the money they earn through football revenue.

General secretary Gianni Infantino has now stated that from 2012-13 clubs will have to break even - spending only what they earn - if they want to play in the Champions League or Europa League.

"What we are doing, with the support of all the stakeholders in the game including the major professional clubs, is to try to improve the long term stability of European club football by encouraging clubs to live within the revenues that they generate," Infantino said to the Daily Telegraph.

"We are concerned, and many of the clubs and owners are concerned, about the sustainability of the game. We surveyed more than 650 clubs all over Europe, and found that 50 per cent of those clubs are making losses every year, and 20 per cent of them are making huge losses, spending 120 per cent of their revenue every year.

"Our intention is not to make all clubs equal with the same money to spend," he highlighted. "What we see is that the rich owners already go to the big clubs because they make more money.

"We want a healthier environment which will allow smaller clubs to invest in their infrastructure and be able to compete with the bigger clubs, knowing that they can only spend what they earn."

http://www.goal.com/en/news/755/europe/2010/01/22/1756433/clubs-have-to-break-even-if-they-want-to-play-champions