Download State aid: Commission clears support measures for

European Commission - Press release
State aid: Commission clears support measures for certain football clubs in
the Netherlands
Brussels, 4 July 2016
After an in-depth investigation, the European Commission has concluded that support
measures granted by several Dutch municipalities to five football clubs are in line with EU
State aid rules.
The Commission found that four clubs (FC Den Bosch, MVV Maastricht, NEC Nijmegen and Willem II,
Tilburg) received aid but that the support complied with EU State aid rules. A land transaction
concerning PSV Eindhoven involved no aid as it took place on market terms.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy,said: "When public authorities hand
out subsidies there is a risk of competition distortions. Professional football clubs are businesses and
the Commission needs to make sure that the economic competition between clubs isnot distorted by
state subsidies for a select few. In the Dutch cases, we found that the measures respected State aid
rules and did not distort competition."
In March 2013, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether measures granted
by five municipalities in the Netherlands in favour of professional football clubs complied with EU State
aid rules. EU State aid rules apply to public interventions in the market to ensure that they do not
distort competition by selectively favouring one market participant over another. Professional sport is
an economic activity. Football clubs conduct marketing, merchandising, TV broadcasting, transfer of
players etc., and compete at international level. In many cases, professional football clubs have
significant turnover. EU State aid rules ensure that public funding does not distort competition between
clubs. They protect the level playing field for the majority of professional clubs who have to operate
without subsidies.
As the clubs under investigation were in financial difficulties, the Commission assessed the measures in
the light of the 2004 Guidelines on State aidfor rescuing and restructuringfirms in difficulty. The
Guidelines aim to ensure that rescue and restructuring aid only goes to companies that have a realistic
viability prospect and that take measures to alleviate the distortions of competition caused by the
State support.
The Commission's investigation found that a realistic restructuring plan had been implemented for the
football clubs Den Bosch, MVV, NEC and Willem II. The clubs significantly contributed to the cost of
their restructuring and agreed to take measures limiting the distortions of competition created by the
public funding, such as reducing the number of employees, the number of registered players and
players' wages.
The Commission also investigated the sale and lease back transaction of the municipality of Eindhoven
in favour of PSV Eindhoven concerning the land on which the Philips stadium and a training block
were built. The Commission found that this transaction had been carried out on terms acceptable to a
market investor. In its assessment the Commission took account of an independent external valuation
report that formed the basis of the transaction.
The Commission therefore concluded that the measure concerning PSV Eindhoven involves no State aid
within the meaning of the EU rules and that the measures concerning Den Bosch, MVV, NEC and
Willem II were in line with the 2004 Guidelines on State aidfor rescuing and restructuringfirms in
difficulty.
The following table gives an overview of the specific measures covered by the decisions:
Year of
Name of club
Description
measure
The municipality of Nijmegen bought a claim made by NEC with regard to
NEC
2010
the multifunctional sports complex De Eendracht for €2.2 million.
The municipality of Maastricht waived a claim of €1.7 million on MVV and
MVV
2010
bought the football stadium and training grounds for €1.85 million.
The municipality of Tilburg lowered the rent of the stadium with retroactive
Willem II
2010
effect. The total advantage for Willem II amounts to €2.4 million.
The municipality of Eindhoven bought the land under the stadium and the
training block from PSV for €48.385 million. PSV pays an annual fee to lease
PSV
2011
the stadium ground, the ground under the training complex and a parking
lot.
The municipality of Den Bosch agreed on a debt-to-equity swap with the
football club and other private creditors and then transferred its claim of
FC Den Bosch
2011
€1.65 million for €1 to the foundation Stichting Met Heel Mijn Hart. The
municipality also bought training facilities for €1.4 million.
The Commission has also today adopted decisions concerning State aid to seven Spanish football clubs.
Background
Public interventions in favour of market actors that carry out economic activities can be considered free
of State aid within the meaning of EU rules when they are made on terms that a private operator
would have accepted under market conditions (the market economy investor principle). If this principle
is not respected, the public interventions constitute State aid within the meaning of the EU rules
(Article 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – TFEU), because they confer an
economic advantage on the beneficiary that its competitors do not have. The Commission then
assesses whether such aid is compatible with the common EU rules that allow certain categories of aid.
For companies in difficulty, aid can be authorised under the conditions set out in the EU Rescue and
Restructuring Guidelines. These Guidelines aim to ensure that rescue and restructuring aid only goes to
companies that have a realistic viability prospect and that take measures to alleviate the distortions of
competition brought about by the State support. The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines apply to
professional football clubs.
Under the revised 2014 General Block Exemption Regulation, Member States do not have to notify
small-scale support measures in favour of sport infrastructure from prior State aid scrutiny, as long as
that infrastructure is open for use by the general public.
The non-confidential version of the decisions will be made available under the case numbers, SA.40168
(Willem II), SA.41612 (MVV), SA.41614 (Den Bosch), SA.41617 (NEC) and SA.41613 (PSV) in the
State Aid Register on the competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New
publications of State aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid
Weekly e-News.
IP/16/2402
Press contacts:
Ricardo CARDOSO (+32 2 298 01 00)
Yizhou REN (+32 2 299 48 89)
General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email