Is La Liga’s Economic Control regulations outsmarting the rest of the ‘Big Five’?

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In the 2019/20 football season, a time which was plagued by the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, La Liga’s Economic Control regulations benefited both of the two top divisions in Spain.

Overall, Spain’s top two divisions posted a 77-million-euro net profit in the 2019/20 season, whilst other top leagues such as the Bundesliga 1 and 2 suffered a net loss of 213 million euros.

La Liga was the only one of Europe’s top five major competitions to turn a profit during the 2019/20 season and the Economic Control mechanisms played a vital role in achieving that feat.

But what exactly is La Liga’s Economic Control? Is it similar to the A-League’s salary cap?

La Liga’s Economic Control, launched in 2013, is a regulatory framework that was self-imposed by the La Liga clubs with the clear objective of guaranteeing the sustainability of the competition and of the clubs themselves through financial review.

What makes the control measures different to UEFA’s Financial Fair play is that La Liga’s Economic Control has a preventative nature. The clubs are aware of how much they can spend in advance, allowing them to easily stay within the limits and prevent an accumulation of debt which is unstainable.

These measures differentiate La Liga from the rest of the major five European leagues, when it comes to activity in the transfer market.

When making signings in the market, one of the pillars of Economic Control is noticeably important, that of the Squad Cost Limit (SCL).

The SCL is essentially the amount that each club can spend on their squad. The framework isn’t just concerned with the salaries of these professionals but other factors too, such as image right payments, variable payments, license fees and other remunerations.

Overall, the limit for each club corresponds to this equation: Budgeted non-sporting expenses are subtracted from the budgeted revenues, taking also into account the debt repayments. The remaining sum is the SCL of the club in question.

When a club wants to sign a new player, they send all the documentation to La Liga, who will authorise or reject the registration of the player – based on the rules and on the SCL at the date of the application.

La Liga have a valuation body – who use reports from independent experts and follow the rules set out in the policy framework. They are allowed, at any time, to revise any particular operation. For example – they can revise a deal to ensure that it is in line with current market values and/or economic trends.

This guarantees that all registrations of players by La Liga clubs are in line with Economic Control regulations. Only in this way can it be certain that all of the teams are competing equally and that there is no form of financial doping, ensuring the sustainable growth of La Liga clubs.

Overall, the implementation of these regulations has helped La Liga hold on to a strong financial position since 2013.

From 2014/15 to 2019/20, the combined equity of La Liga clubs rose by 250%, with debt owed to public bodies going down from €650m in 2013 (the majority overdue) to just €23m in 2021 (all up to date).

Also, complaints from players over non-payment have fallen drastically, from €89m worth in 2011 to €1.5m worth in 2021, with most of the current objections stemming from conflicting interpretations of criteria, rather than unsubstantiated failures to pay.

General Manager at Sevilla FC, Jose Maria Cruz, recently summed it up best.

Speaking at the World Football Summit Europe conference, he credited the success of the economic regulations as a major factor in to why the Spanish competition was so well prepared to deal with the effects of a global pandemic.

“We have been very lucky in Spain and in Europe because we were better prepared than in the past,” he said at the World Football Summit Europe conference recently.

“If a pandemic like this had come five years ago, it would have been traumatic for the football industry…the Economic Control from La Liga, that has been functioning very well, has helped us.”

Will other leagues around the world look to adopt a similar type of model? What do you make of the A-League’s current regulations in comparison?

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Western Strikers Nominated FSA Club of the Month for Equity Outcomes

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Image Credit: Football SA

Western Strikers SC has been nominated for Club of the Month after a period of deliberate structural investment in its female program that is already producing measurable outcomes, and offering a model for how community clubs can drive participation growth through equity-focused planning rather than passive goodwill.

The nomination recognises a program that has moved beyond surface-level commitment to women’s football and into the kind of structural change that determines whether female players actually stay. Improved lighting across training and match pitches, equitable scheduling, extended training hours and dedicated pitch allocation have addressed the practical barriers that clubs often overlook. It’s conditions that tell players, implicitly or otherwise, whether the game was built for them.

 

Leadership as Infrastructure

Central to Western Strikers’ approach is a leadership structure that takes female football seriously as a technical and administrative priority. Women’s Coordinator Michelle Loprete and Technical Director Georgia Iannella, a former Matilda, provide the program with both organisational direction and the kind of visible role modelling that shapes whether younger players can picture themselves progressing through the game.

The presence of a former international player in a technical leadership role at a community level isn’t incidental. It signals to junior players that the pathway from their Friday night training session to elite football is real and navigable, and it gives the club’s coaching staff access to experience and credibility that most community programs cannot offer.

That pipeline is already functioning. Western Strikers’ Under-13 to Under-16 girls teams all qualified for finals in the Youth Premier League this season. Under-15 goalkeeper Sian Schopfer made her debut in the Women’s State League team which is a direct product of a club environment designed to move players upward.

 

The Friday-night model

One of the more quietly significant initiatives at Western Strikers is the scheduling of Friday night women’s matches, with junior girls training beforehand encouraged to stay and watch senior football. The structure is straightforward but its implications are meaningful. Aspiration in sport is not abstract. It’s built through proximity, through watching players a few years older doing what you want to do, in the same kit, at the same club.

The absence of that experience is one of the more consistent reasons girls disengage from football in their mid-teens. When junior female players cannot see where the game goes after their age group, the logical conclusion is that it goes nowhere. Western Strikers’ scheduling decision addresses that directly, at minimal cost, and whose effects are starting to manifest.

 

The Club Changer framework

The club’s participation in Football South Australia’s Club Changer Program has provided a structured framework for identifying and addressing barriers that might otherwise go unexamined. Pitch allocation, training structures and safety conditions are the kinds of issues that accumulate quietly in club environments; not because of deliberate exclusion but because the default systems were built around male participation and have never been comprehensively reviewed.

The Club Changer Program creates accountability for that review. Western Strikers’ ability to project an additional 146 female players over the next three years is a product of planning rather than optimism.

 

Industry implications

Western Strikers’ model matters beyond its own membership. At a time when women’s football in Australia is navigating the challenge of converting a participation surge into sustainable long-term growth, the question of what community clubs actually do with increased interest is among the most consequential in the sport.

Record crowds at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and sustained national visibility have opened the door. Whether players walk through it and stay depends on whether the club on the other side looks anything like Western Strikers

Melbourne City expand youth program with Hallam Secondary College

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Image credit: Melbourne City FC

The school will join the City Futures Program in its mission to consolidate pathways and community bonds for students.

From pupils to players

Hallam is the latest school in Melbourne’s South-East to join the City Futures Program. Also backing the program’s ambitions are Narre Warren South P-12 College, Gleneagles Secondary College and Timbarra P-9 School.

Partnerships between professional clubs like Melbourne City and local schools help to promote community connection, as well as providing pathways from the classroom to the stadium.

“City Futures is about creating genuine opportunities for young people to stay engaged in their education while feeling connected to something bigger,” said Head of Community, Sunil Melon, via press release.

“By bringing the Club into schools and providing access to our environment, we’re helping students build confidence, explore future pathways and see what’s possible both within football and beyond.”

Gone are the days when young players must choose between football and education. Through the City Futures Program, they can enjoy both worlds and still have the opportunities to develop.

 

What City Futures provides

Hallam sudents will be at the centre of the benefits provided by the connection to Melbourne City.

For example, high-quality coaching sessions delivered twice a week will instill confidence and teamwork skills into young participants. And as Melbourne City coaches are set to deliver the sessions, the students will truly learn from the best in Australia’s footbal landscape.

Furthermore, participants can visit Casey Fields, home to the City Football Academy, where they can experience the ins and outs of how an A-League club operates and trains.

“We’re proud to be part of the City Futures Program,” outlined Acting Principal at Hallam Secondary College, Shelly Haughey.

“Seeing our students come together and commit to their training is setting them up for success both on and off the pitch, and we look forward to building a strong and lasting partnership with Melbourne City FC.”

 

The future of football pathways

This isn’t the first – nor will it be the last – partnership to connect football and education in Australia.

Earlier this year, Queensland-based John Paul College embarked on an exciting journey with Spanish outfit, RCD Espanyol, to provide unique coaching support, player education, and pathway opportunities.

But these partnerships aren’t merely about giving young talents a place in the starting XI.

They are designed to ensure all participants develop into confident young people – whether their future lies on the pitch, in the dugout or in the boardroom.

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