Italy FIGC

FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio hailed the “epoch-making reforms” that should

Today the Federation passed new rules including a ‘fit and proper person’ test for club owners and financial guarantees each side will be able to see out the full season.

“This is an historic meeting, as we are introducing rules that will keep the Italian football system alive, ” said Tavecchio in a Press conference.

“If cutting the League to 18 teams is the mother of all reform, then this is the father...

“Italy has been in a recession for eight years, so football clubs lost many resources and suffered an enormous lack of liquidity.

“Therefore, either we reform the system in terms of organisation, management, industry and finance or we’ll run into some serious problems.

“We decided it’s best to cure the ‘patient’ gradually, ensuring he does not die. I expected a worse attitude from the clubs, but they understood the situation.

“This begins a season of structural reform to avoid the repeat of certain situations in future. Today we approved these rules for Serie A, while in a few weeks we’ll try to do the same for Serie B and Lega Pro.”

FIGC director general Michele Uva added that the new rules will be “a gradual process, but by 2018 we should have all the clubs strongly stable in financial and therefore also sporting terms.

“From next year those who want to sign new players can only do so if they have balanced books. If they do not respect the rules, rather than paying an immediate fine, clubs must present a viable plan to fix the situation.