J.5 Relevant investments for the long-term benefit of football - Club Licensing

J.5.1

A licensee may adjust aggregated football earnings for a monitoring period if relevant expenses include any of the below investments for the long-term benefit of football as defined in Article 89:

1. Expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities

   A licensee may adjust expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities.

   Expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities means expenditure by a licensee that would have been avoided if the licensee did not undertake youth development activities including activities to train, educate and develop players involved in its youth development programme in the territory of the UEFA member association.

   Examples of youth development activities:

   1. Organisation of a youth sector;

   2. Youth teams taking part in official national, regional or local competitions or programmes recognised by the UEFA member association;

   3. Football education programmes for different age groups (playing skills, technical, tactical and physical);

   4. Other education programmes (Laws of the Game, anti-doping, integrity, anti-racism);

   5. Medical support for youth players; and

   6. Non-football education arrangements.

      Examples of expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities:

   7. Costs of materials and services used to undertake youth development activities, including accommodation costs, medical fees, educational fees, travel and subsistence, kit and clothing and facility hire;

   8. Employee benefit expenses for employees other than players wholly involved in youth development activities such as the head of the youth development programme and youth coaches, as defined in Article 50 to Article 52, if their employment by the club is for the purpose of youth development activities;

   9. Employee benefit expenses for employees who are youth players under the age of 18 as at the licensee’s annual accounting reference date. Employee benefit expenses for employees who are youth players aged 18 or over as at the licensee’s annual accounting reference date cannot be excluded from relevant expenses.

      If a licensee cannot identify expenditure on youth development activities as distinct from other expenditure, then such expenditure will not be treated as expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities. The following are not considered expenditure directly attributable to youth development activities for the purpose of this requirement:

   10. Player scouting costs;

   11. Costs of obtaining a youth player’s registration, such as any fees paid to an agent/intermediary or to another club;

   12. Sales, administrative and other general overhead expenditure, unless this expenditure can be directly attributed to the youth development activities;

   13. Employee benefit expenses for employees only partly involved in youth development activities (for example, a coach working part-time on youth development activities).

2. Expenditure directly attributable to community development activities

   A licensee may adjust expenditure directly attributable to community development activities.

   Expenditure directly attributable to community development activities means expenditure that would have been avoided if the licensee did not undertake community development activities.

   Examples of community development activities:

   1. Activities for the public benefit to promote participation in sport and advance social development;

   2. The advancement of education;

   3. The advancement of health;

   4. The advancement of social inclusion and equality;

   5. The prevention or relief of poverty;

   6. The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity;

   7. The advancement of amateur sport;

   8. The advancement of environmental sustainability, environmental protection or improvement;

   9. The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or another disadvantage.

      Examples of expenditure directly attributable to community development activities:

   10. Costs of materials and services used to undertake the community development activities;

   11. Employee benefit expenses for employees wholly involved in community development activities;

   12. Donations to other entities whose purpose is to promote participation in sport and/or advance social development.

       If a licensee cannot identify expenditure on community development activities as distinct from other expenditure, then such expenditure will not be treated as expenditure directly attributable to community development activities. The following are not considered expenditure directly attributable to community development activities for the purpose of this requirement:

   13. Sales, administrative and other general overhead expenditure unless this expenditure can be directly attributed to the community development activities;

   14. Employee benefit expenses for employees only partly involved in community development activities (for example, a player having some form of involvement in community development activities).

3. Expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities

   A licensee may adjust expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities.

   Expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities means expenditure that would have been avoided if the licensee did not undertake football activities for players involved in women’s teams in the territory of the UEFA member association.

   Examples of women’s football activities:

   1. Organisation of a women’s football sector to train, educate and develop players;

   2. Women’s teams taking part in official national, regional or local competitions or programmes recognised by the UEFA member association.

      Examples of expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities:

   3. Costs of materials and services used to undertake women’s football activities, including accommodation costs, medical fees, educational fees, travel and subsistence, kit and clothing and facility hire;

   4. Employee benefit expenses for employees wholly involved in women’s football activities, such as players and technical staff, if their employment by the licensee is for the purpose of women’s football activities.

      If a licensee cannot separately identify expenditure on women’s football activities from other expenditure, then such expenditure will not be treated as expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities. The following are not considered expenditure directly attributable to women’s football activities for the purpose of this requirement:

   5. Player scouting costs;

   6. Costs to obtain the registration of a player, such as any fees paid to an agent/intermediary or to another club;

   7. Selling, administrative and other general overhead expenditure unless this expenditure can be directly attributed to women’s football activities;

   8. Employee benefit expenses for employees only partly involved in women’s football activities (for example, a coach working part time on women’s football activities).

4. Expenditure directly attributable to non-football operations related to the club

   A licensee may adjust relevant expenses against the net of:

   1. expenditure directly attributable to non-football operations related to the club; and

   2. the corresponding income.

5. Finance costs directly attributable to the construction and substantial modification of tangible assets

   A licensee may adjust any finance costs that are directly attributable to the construction and/or substantial modification of tangible assets for use for the club’s football activities, provided the finance costs have been expensed in a reporting period rather than capitalised as part of the cost of the asset, up until when the asset is ready for use.

   The amount that may be adjusted is the actual interest expense (not otherwise capitalised) less any investment income on the temporary investment of the amount borrowed in respect of which the interest relates. The relevant interest is from the date when the entity incurs expenditure for the asset, incurs borrowing costs and/or undertakes activities that are necessary to prepare the asset for its intended use or sale, until the asset is ready for use.

   After completion of the construction and/or substantial modification of an asset, these finance costs can no longer be offset.

6. Costs of leasehold improvements

   A licensee may adjust subsequent construction and/or substantial modification costs it has incurred on a tangible asset that has been leased for at least ten years if such costs (i) can be measured reliably, (ii) will result in future economic benefits for the licensee, and (iii) are not otherwise capitalised.

   For the avoidance of doubt, day-to-day servicing and regular maintenance costs in relation to specific items of property, plant or equipment cannot be offset.