For the purpose of these regulations, the following definitions apply:
Administration procedures
A voluntary or mandatory process that may be used as an alternative to the liquidation of an entity, often known as going into administration. The day-to-day management of the activities of an entity in administration may be operated by the administrator on behalf of the creditors.
Agent/intermediary
A natural or legal person who, for a fee or free of charge, represents players and/or clubs in negotiations with a view to concluding an employment contract or represents clubs in negotiations with a view to concluding a transfer agreement.
Agreed-upon procedures
Procedures that have been agreed to by the auditor and the engaging party and, if relevant, other parties.
Annual accounting reference date
The date on which the reporting period for the annual financial statements ends.
Associate
An entity, including an unincorporated entity such as a partnership, which neither is a subsidiary nor has an interest in a joint venture and over which the investor has significant influence.
Auditor
An independent audit firm acting in compliance with the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards).
CFCB
UEFA Club Financial Control Body
Club licensing criteria
Requirements, divided into six categories (sporting, social and environmental sustainability, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal and financial), to be fulfilled by a licence applicant for it to be granted a licence.
Control
The power to conduct the activities of an entity and to direct its financial, operating
or sporting policies which affect returns, by means of share ownership, voting power,
constitutional documents (statutes), agreement, or otherwise.
Examples of control include a party:
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holding a majority of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights;
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having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members responsible for the governance of an entity (e.g. any administrative, management or supervisory bodies of an entity);
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being a minority shareholder or a member of the entity and alone, pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders or members of the entity or by any other means, being able to exercise control (including as defined under (a) or (b)).
Costs of a player’s registration
Amounts paid or payable directly attributable to a player’s registration, comprising:
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fixed transfer compensation;
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realised conditional transfer compensation for amounts which have become payable during the period;
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any other directly attributable amounts paid and/or payable to another party such as another football club, agent/intermediary, or national football association/league.
Depreciation
The systematic allocation of the depreciable amount of a tangible asset over its useful life, i.e. the period over which an asset is expected to be available for use by an entity.
Directly attributable
Directly attributable means, in relation to a particular activity, that:
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the expense, whether operating or non-operating, would have been avoided if that particular activity had not been undertaken; and
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the expense is separately identifiable without apportionment.
Dividends
Distributions paid to holders of equity instruments.
Employee benefit expenses
All forms of consideration given by an entity in exchange for services rendered by employees or for the termination of employment, including in respect of directors, management and those responsible for governance.
Event or condition of major economic importance
An event or condition that is considered material to the financial statements of the reporting entity/entities and would require a different (adverse) presentation of the results of the operations, financial position and net assets of the reporting entity/entities if it occurred during the preceding reporting period.
Government
Any form of government, including government agencies, government departments, government entities and similar bodies, whether local or national.
Group
A parent and all its subsidiaries. A parent is an entity that has one or more subsidiaries. A subsidiary is an entity, including an unincorporated entity such as a partnership, that is controlled by another entity (known as the parent).
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
Standards and Interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They comprise:
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International Financial Reporting Standards;
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International Accounting Standards; and
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Interpretations originated by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) or the former Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC).
ISRS 4400
International Standard on Related Services 4400 (Revised), Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements.
Joint control
The contractually agreed sharing of control over an economic activity, which exists only when the strategic financial and operating decisions relating to the activity require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control (the venturers).
Joint venture
A contractual arrangement whereby two or more parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to joint control.
Key management personnel
Persons having authority over and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of an entity, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to any director (executive or otherwise) of the entity.
Licence
Certificate granted by the licensor confirming fulfilment of all minimum criteria by the licence applicant as part of the admission procedure for entering the UEFA club competitions.
Licence season
UEFA season for which a licence applicant has applied for/been granted a licence. It starts the day following the deadline for submission of the list of licensing decisions by the licensor to UEFA and lasts until the same deadline the following year.
Licensee
Licence applicant that has been granted a licence by its licensor.
Licensor
UEFA member association or its affiliated league that operates the club licensing system and grants licences.
List of licensing decisions
List submitted by the licensor to UEFA containing, among other things, information about the licence applicants that have undergone the licensing process and been granted or refused a licence by the national decision-making bodies in the format established and communicated by UEFA.
Material/Materiality
Omissions or misstatements of items or information are material if they could individually or collectively influence the decisions of users taken on the basis of the information submitted by the club. Materiality depends on the size and nature of the omission or misstatement judged in the surrounding circumstances or context. The size or nature of the item or information, or a combination of both, could be the determining factor.
Minimum criteria
Criteria to be fulfilled by a licence applicant in order to be granted a licence.
National accounting practice
The accounting and reporting practices and disclosures required of entities in a particular country.
Parties involved
Any person or entity involved in the UEFA club licensing system, including the UEFA administration, the CFCB, the licensor, the licence applicant/licensee and any individual involved on their behalf.
Party
A natural or legal person, a legal entity or a government.
Player registration(s)
Player registration(s) has the meaning set out in the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
Professional player
Professional player has the meaning set out in the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. If applicable, a professional player may be male or female.
Reporting entity/entities
A registered member or football company or group of entities or some other combination of entities which is included in the reporting perimeter and which must provide the licensor with information for club licensing purposes.
Reporting period
A financial reporting period ending on the reporting entity's annual accounting reference date.
Significant change
An event that is considered material to the documentation previously submitted to the licensor and that would require a different presentation if it occurred prior to submission of the documentation.
Significant influence
The power to participate in the financial, operating or sporting policies of an entity,
but not in control or joint control of that entity, by means of share ownership, voting
power, constitutional documents (statutes), agreement, or otherwise.
Examples of significant influence include a party:
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holding, directly or indirectly, between 20% and 50% of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights;
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having the ability to influence the appointment or removal of a majority of the members responsible for the governance of an entity (e.g. any administrative, management or supervisory bodies of an entity);
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being a minority shareholder or a member of the entity and alone, pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders or members of the entity or by any other means, being able to exercise any significant influence (including as defined under (a) and (b);
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providing in one reporting period either alone or in aggregate with parties under the same ultimate controlling party or government (excluding UEFA, a UEFA member association and an affiliated league) an amount equivalent to at least 30% of the entity’s total revenue for the same period.
Stadium
The venue used by a club for a football match including adjacent properties used for the organisation of such football match (for example offices, hospitality areas, press centre and accreditation centre).
Supplementary information
Financial information to be submitted to the licensor in addition to the financial
statements if the minimum requirements for disclosure and accounting are not met.
Supplementary information must be prepared on a basis of accounting, and accounting
policies, consistent with the financial statements. Financial information must be
extracted from sources consistent with those used for the preparation of the annual
financial statements. Where appropriate, disclosures in the supplementary information
must agree with, or be reconciled to, the relevant disclosures in the financial statements.
Tangible assets
Assets that have physical substance and are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes on a continuing basis in the entity’s activities.
Training facility
A venue at which a club’s football players undertake football training or youth development activities on a regular basis, comprising football pitches, indoor training facilities, dressing rooms and a medical room.
UEFA Club Licensing Quality Standard
Document that defines the minimum requirements with which licensors must comply to operate the club licensing system.
Ultimate beneficiary
A natural person on whose behalf an entity or arrangement is owned or controlled or a transaction is conducted.
Ultimate controlling party
A natural or legal person who/which has, directly or indirectly, ultimate control of an entity.
Any masculine or feminine grammatical forms used to refer to people in the different language versions of these regulations are used for readability only and should be understood to cover people of all genders, except where clear from the context.