Club Financial Control Panel meets

UEFA has taken another step in its continued efforts to increase transparency and good governance in European football.

Club Financial Control Panel
Following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee in March this year to create a Club Financial Control Panel, or CFC Panel (click here for details), and further to the appointment of Jean-Luc Dehaene, the former Prime Minister of Belgium, as its first chairman, the composition of the CFC Panel was established in Nyon on Tuesday with eight independent experts being appointed by UEFA President Michel Platini and Mr Dehaene.

First meeting
The CFC Panel immediately held its first meeting in its new composition in order to establish a work programme for the 2009/10 season and to discuss the challenges it will face in the coming seasons.

Start of new era
"This marks the start of a new era in European football," said Michel Platini. "Financial fair play is a top priority for UEFA in order to achieve more transparency and guarantee equality in our competitions. I am confident that the CFC Panel will enhance the credibility of the club licensing system, and with the introduction of financial fair play, the work of the CFC Panel will be vital if we are to help preserve the stability and health of European club football in the medium to long term."

Challenge
"Throughout my career I have been confronted with challenges, and bringing a degree of financial order to European football is certainly a challenge," said Jean-Luc Dehaene. "However, together with my newly appointed colleagues, I am confident that we will be able to monitor and oversee the financial fair play system that will ultimately lead to a more stable financial regulation of European football."

CFC panel tasks
"The tasks of the CFC Panel are to ensure that the UEFA club licensing system is applied correctly across all 53 UEFA member associations," said UEFA, "and that clubs have fulfilled the criteria defined in the UEFA Club Licensing Regulations.

Financial Fair Play concept
"Furthermore," UEFA added, "the CFC Panel will form an essential part in implementing and assessing the financial fair play concept, which was unanimously approved by the UEFA Executive Committee earlier this year in September.

Long-term stability
"As such, the CFC Panel will have an important role in helping to improve the financial fairness in European competitions and the long-term stability of club football across Europe, combined with the aim of stimulating long-term investment [youth development and upgrading of sporting facilities] over short-term speculative spending." (Click here to read more about the Financial Fair Play Concept.)

The Club Financial Control Panel is composed as follows:

• Chairman: Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgium
• Members: Jacobo Beltrán, Spain; Egon Franck, Germany; Umberto Lago, Italy; Johan Lokhorst, Netherlands; Brian Lomax, England; Petros Mavroidis, Greece; Brian Quinn, Scotland; and Yves Wehrli, France