Skip to main content

Transfer embargo for Blues

Birmingham City have been placed under a transfer embargo for failing to comply with financial fair play rules: Transfer embargo

The ban relates to regulations on profitability and sustainability. The Football League have demonstrated their determination to enforce FFP rules with £42m of charges levied on QPR.

Like many Championship clubs who are treading the Financial Fair Play tightrope, Blues were initially placed under a 'soft' embargo at the end of last season. However, with the EFL not convinced Blues had heeded their warning, they were placed under full transfer embargo in early July and that prevents them from registering players. The news has only now been confirmed.

Under the rules clubs can lose £15m over three seasons, although owners can top this up to £39m if they put in £8m a season in the form of shares. Blues had pre-tax losses of £21.4m in 2 years to 2016/17. Some costs are disallowed for FFP purposes.

Kieran Maguire of the Price of Football has commented, 'After years of austerity Birmingham City went a bit giddy in 2016/17, signing players for nearly £12m which had a knock on effect of increasing the wage bill by 47 per cent. They then spent a further £10 million in the 2017 summer window. This would have another inflationary impact on wages and increase losses in 2017/18.'

Maguire added, 'This ties in with losses announced by Birmingham City's parent company in Hong Kong, which tripled from 2017 to 2018. All this points to a FFP breach by the time summer of 2018 arrived. Shame both the club and EFL have been so silent for so long on this.'

There is concern and mounting anger among fans about the lack of communication from the club's Chinese directors.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more