This study reviews the impact of the Spanish Transparency Law (TL) 19/2013 and the Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, on the transparency and accountability of Spanish professional football clubs, and examines the influence of financial performance on the transparency of Spanish football clubs. The study uses a Panel Data methodology (FGLS) to compare the international transparency index for football clubs (INFUT) with the criteria of UEFA’s FFP as a measure of the social and financial performance, respectively, on a sample of 28 Spanish professional teams of first and second division during the periods of 2015, 2016, and 2019. The study reveals that the implementation of TL 19/2013 and UEFA’s FFP has improved the transparency and accountability of clubs. On the one hand, the TL has facilitated access to financial information, and, on the other, the FFP regulations have contributed to improving the balance and financial viability of the clubs. The study also reveals that financial performance directly influences the transparency of clubs.

The objective of this study is to analyze, from a multi-theoretical framework, whether the managers of the Spanish National Sports Federations (NSFs) apply earnings management using accounting accruals as a measure of managerial discretion; secondly, whether these practices are associated with both the level of dependence on external resources, and the economic and financial control mechanisms exercised by the Superior Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes, CSD) for the granting of public subsidies. The study provides evidence that long-term debt levels and the size of sports federations are determinants of earnings management, with a more accentuated relationship in the case of Olympic and Paralympic sports federations.

This paper analyses the effectiveness of the financial control system implemented by the Spanish professional football League in 2015 as a tool to improve the governance of clubs in the first and second divisions as well as its probable impact on competition. Classic financial ratios are used to analyse the financial situation of the clubs both before and after the implementation of the Regulation, as well as during the first season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, the Herfindahl index is calculated to measure the concentration in the distribution of the main funding sources and is incorporated as a dependent variable in a regression model. Although a cause–effect relationship is not certain, the results suggest that the economic control measures imposed by LFP have contributed to improving the financial situation of Spanish football in the short term, but may promote imbalances between clubs that undermine the sustainability of the current management model and, therefore, of the competition system. Unlike in other sectors, the football business requires more competition to maximise profits. In this context, it would be advisable to reach agreements between clubs to weaken the bargaining position of footballers. The paper shows the effect of the intervention of a regulatory body, in this case, LFP, in the functioning of a competitive market.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, has accelerated technological immersion into society, economy and public administrations. The sports organisations are no strangers to this digitisation and must carry out their own digital transformation. However, investment in digital technology must be preceded by a diagnosis of the technological needs of each sports entity. Said mapping will help organisations know the most appropriate technological tools for their core businesses so they can properly design their digital transformation strategies. The objectives of this study were to design and create a tool to understand the digital structure of Spanish sports. The result has been the configuration of an instrument that includes the description of different technologies and different digital competencies specific to the sports industry, and which allows individuals to know the use, importance, perceived difficulty of use and economic accessibility of available technologies, as well as the degree of developed competency in the different sports organisations. It is concluded that the creation and application of a consultation instrument on digitalisation is the first and necessary step to carry out relevant, in-depth, valid and replicable research, which allows information to be gathered on the digitalisation needs of sports organisations to design their digital transformation roadmap and that the aids for digital transformation is distributed efficiently.

Research question: This study assesses the performance of the Spanish Sports Federations in the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008 and London 2012 from the point of view of their efficiency in the use of the available resources. The research aims to identify the possible existence of a behaviour pattern in the performance of these sports federations and, particularly, the influence of the different funding sources on the results. Research methods: The measurement of the relative efficiency of the 22 federations that participated in both editions is carried out by applying the Data Envelopment Analysis methodology. The Malmquist index is used to analyse the evolution of the efficiency and, a persistence study, to evaluate the consistency of the results. Finally, correlations are estimated to verify the possible links between the efficiency of the federations and their funding sources. Results and findings: The study captures the relative efficiency of the federations in the sample, a deceleration in the performance being observed between Beijing 2008 and London 2012. It finds little relation between the relative efficiency of the federations and their different funding sources. Implications: This study may be especially relevant in a context where an important amount of public resources is earmarked for elite sports, without clarifying the “value for money” of such investments. It hopes to contribute to the existing literature with regard to the measurement of efficiency in sports through the introduction of indicators which can capture the performance of sports federations more precisely.

Sport federations (NSFs) are the main promoters of sport at a national level. Their complex management involves coordinating relations with private entities, public administrations, and international organisations. Therefore, the economic situation of a country and its sport support policies have significant influences on the achievement of the NSFs’ objectives and, therefore, on their sustainability and influence on an active population. This study analyses the determinants of the financial performance of 59 Spanish sport federations (SSFs), 28 Olympic and 31 non-Olympic, based on the relationship between the funding received and their international results during the period from 2007 to 2019 (both years included). The preliminary data analysis included an examination of the missing data, and a t-test was used to compare Olympic and non-Olympic sport federations regarding different variables related to their resources and results. In addition, multiple linear regressions identified the possible predictors of the financing of sport federations and were separately performed for Olympic and non-Olympic federations. The results showed that SSFs were able to maintain their results in the face of decreasing resources. In addition, Olympic SSFs were found to be less dependent on public funding than non-Olympic SSFs for competitive results. This is evidence of a paradigm shift in the management of Spanish federated sports, evolving towards a model that is less dependent on the state, more efficient, and therefore more sustainable.