When a sports association reaches a revenue threshold of 1,2 million euros or an amount of remuneration paid in excess of 800000 euros, it must constitute a sports company.SASP is one of three options possible with the OSA and the SEMS.
Incorporation of a company
To calculate the thresholds, the averages of income and remuneration over the last three financial years are taken into account.
For the determination of the receipts, all the products of the paying events are retained. That is to say the amount of paid admissions, advertising revenue, income from audiovisual exploitation rights,…. On the other hand, subsidies are not taken into account.
Regarding remuneration, all salaries, bonuses, vacations, benefits in cash or in kind, usual or exceptional, received by athletes are taken into account.
Companies having exceeded one of these thresholds have one year to constitute the company. Otherwise, they may be excluded from the competitions.
The constitution of the company does not entail the disappearance of the association. This becomes the support association and will manage the amateur sector of the club.
The association and the sports society must imperatively conclude an agreement in order to regulate the relationship between the two structures.
SASP
1. Most often, the SASP is formed by the contribution, by the association, of its professional activity.
The creation of a SASP can also result from the transformation of a pre-existing SAOS or SEMS.
Finally, it can be created at the time of the acquisition of the elements of the professional activity of an existing sports group (acquisitions of tangible assets and goodwill).
At the time of creation, the support association must be one of the original shareholders, but it may subsequently sell its shares.
The SASP, like a traditional SA, can be constituted in the form of a SASP with a board of directors or a SASP with a management board and a supervisory board.
2. Close to the public limited company, SASP therefore differs from SAOS or SEMS in that it can distribute dividends to its shareholders and remunerate its directors. In addition, access to capital is free, the association not being obliged to hold a minimum capital.
There are still sporting specificities: the obligation to adopt standard statutes and the organization of relations with the association by means of a convention.
3. SASP can make a public call for savings in order to build up its capital. OL Groupe was the first French sports company to go public in 2007. Today, the call for savings is spreading (the basketball clubs of Poitiers or Le Havre have resorted to this system in May 2011).
Specific advertising is necessary. Under Article L. 122-8 of the Sports Code, "With a view to the issue or sale to the public of financial instruments giving access to capital or voting rights, [SASPs] are required to include in the [publicity] document the information relating to their project. development of sports activities and the acquisition of assets intended to strengthen their stability and sustainability, such as the holding of a real right over sports equipment used for the organization of sports events or competitions in which they participate."
