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Valloni / News  / FINANCIAL REGULATION OF FOOTBALL CLUBS IN FRANCE
21 Februar 2025

FINANCIAL REGULATION OF FOOTBALL CLUBS IN FRANCE

Although, generally speaking, association football is the world’s most lucrative sport, it is not without its financial challenges and pressures.

The finances of professional football clubs in France are regulated by the Direction Nationale de Contrôle de Gestion (National Directorate of Management Control) (DNCG).

The purpose of the DNCG is to ensure that clubs are solvent and do not exceed their financial capacity.

The DNCG regulates clubs in the following ways:

  • The DNCG conducts annual audits of clubs, reviewing their budgets, staffing, financial terms, and sponsorships.
  • Based on these audits, the DNCG decides whether to admit a club to the French League for the following season.
  • The DNCG may impose conditions on clubs, such as limits on players’ contracts, salary caps, or budgetary restrictions.
  • The DNCG publishes an Annual Report of its findings and the club’s accounts.

The French Football Federation (FFF) established the DNCG, in 1990, to control the solvency of French professional clubs and protect the integrity of the League.

Certain football clubs are required to operate as commercial companies, pursuant to Articles L.122-1 and R.122-1 of the French Sports Code. According to these provisions, a sports association affiliated with a federation must be incorporated as a commercial company if its annual revenue exceeds €1,200,000 (around Sw. Frs. 1.13 million) or if the total salaries of its professional athletes exceed €800,000 (around Sw. Frs. 753,500). When required to incorporate, clubs can choose from various legal forms, including the Société Anonyme à Objet Sportif (SAOS); Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle (SASP); Société par Actions Simplifiées (SAS); Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL); Société Coopérative d’Intérêt Collectif (SCIC); or other corporate entities permitted under French law. This regulatory framework aims to ensure financial transparency whilst providing flexibility in the legal structuring of professional football clubs.

French football clubs are also subject to the UEFA Financial Fair Play Rules.

Whilst the DNCG focuses on solvency, the UEFA Rules focus on profitability.

This, of course, can lead to disparities between domestic clubs and clubs in other European Football Leagues.

Furthermore, Article L.132-2 of the French Sports Code reinforces financial oversight by requiring federations that have established a professional league to create an independent regulatory body. This entity is tasked with overseeing the administrative, legal, and financial operations of sports associations and companies affiliated with the federation or seeking membership. It is also responsible for controlling the financial activities of sports agents and monitoring changes in club ownership, including acquisitions and transfers of shares.

Notably, the FFF was the first football governing body to put in place, in 1990, a financial regulation system of football clubs, whereas the UEFA financial regulation system of football clubs was established in 2010.

Both financial regulation systems are complex and technical, and we advise clubs on them, including disputes, and further information may be obtained from Dr Estelle Ivanova, the Head of our French Law Desk, by emailing her at ‘ivanova@valloni.ch’.