Sport Success Leaves Financial Clues: The Role of FFP Regulation on Spanish Clubs’ Road to the UEFA Championships

This study measures the impact of Financial Fair Play (FFP) in the Spanish football league by considering three objectives: (1) the probability of qualifying for European competition, (2) if sporting objectives can be related to the financial situation of the clubs, and (3) changes in the financial-accounting structure. The sample contains 176 observations from 13 Spanish clubs between 2004‒2019. The empirical findings reveal that the likelihood of qualifying for European competition is sensitive to certain financial items. It was found that the greater the intangible assets were (pre-FFP), the higher the probability of participating in European competition was. A shift toward financial efficiency was observed due to regulatory change in terms of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and ratio of personnel expenses/operating income, which allows us to conclude that the FFP has opened a new dimension in the professionalization and innovation of financial management in football.