Financial Health and Self-Sustainability of a Small European Football League: The Realities of Top-Flight Croatian Football

This study aims to evaluate the financial health of Croatian top division clubs, locate their primary source of funding, and assess their capacity for self-sustainability. To conclude the current financial condition and long-term (un)sustainability of Croatian club football, selected financial categories and ratios for HNL clubs from 2018 to 2021 were compared with UEFA benchmarks. The horizontal financial analysis results were presented in aggregate league- and individual club-level form and compared to other leagues, averages, and UEFA recommendations. The research revealed significant operating losses covered by net transfer income, unacceptable high wage-to-revenue ratios, and inferior operating margins. Financial stability should not be upheld only as a means to an end for UEFA licensing but for the long-term viability of every football club and the community in which it is embedded. A focus on long-term internal, organic development (i.e., investing in academies, infrastructure, technology, and human capital, as well as actively supporting young players in the first eleven) can yield an edge against more prosperous competition. Without it, top Croatian clubs will eventually realize that the stream of talented players will thin out and, with it, the golden vein that keeps them financially alive.