kni Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) Forgive me if this topic has been discussed already but this proposal should worry us Jags - http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19685823 "Scotland's top clubs are to discuss the possibility of being part of a new European regional league set-up... "European football's governing body, Uefa, is believed to be becoming increasingly concerned by the polarisation across the game between the top clubs and top leagues and is open to change. "The idea of regional leagues involving neighbouring countries and so-called Supra National Cup Tournaments has already been discussed at a recent European Club Association meeting in Switzerland. "Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts and Rangers are all part of the association and will be part of the domestic discussions next week along with the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League." The Express added a bit more - http://www.express.c...sts/view/347684 "UEFA could be ready to open the door to regional, inter-nation competition in the form of an Atlantic League. A major objective would be getting more money into the game. "The idea was first mooted back in 2000 when former PSV Eindhoven chief executive Peter Fossen drew up a blueprint for an alternative European competition for the so-called lesser nations. "Discussions were held with Celtic and Rangers, along with teams from Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries." Such a plan would probably result in the loss of most of Scottish football's television income. It would, of course, be another big source of money (in addition to the Champions League) for UEFA. The European Club Association has 207 members who are the "biggest" clubs in their respective countries - http://www.ecaeurope...rs/eca-members/ . We know that the English Premier League and FA have ruled out the possibility of the Old Firm playing south of the border. A European league could be even more attractive financially for them. UEFA could use a franchise system (similar to the American sports model) to rake in vast sums from a European or Atlantic league. If UEFA is determined (with FIFA's support) to pursue this plan, there is little that the SFA, SPL or SFL could do to stop it. I fear another OF stitch up... Any thoughts? Edited September 29, 2012 by kni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven H Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Don't care, would sacrifice hearts Aberdeen and tv money to get shot of the old old firm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 My first thought when hearing about this was why rangers. They are a completely new entity and shouldn't have anymore say than any other SFL club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 As long as there's promotion and relegation to and from it, I don't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 As long as there's promotion and relegation to and from it, I don't care. There has been no mention of promotion and relegation. UEFA would not want "small" clubs involved for financial reasons. My first thought when hearing about this was why rangers. They are a completely new entity and shouldn't have anymore say than any other SFL club I would agree but membership is based on power rather than merit. You could also ask why Aberdeen and Hearts are members rather than Motherwell or Dundee United. UEFA would want Rangers because they are a big international brand with supporters around the world. Clubs with large fan bases attract more money for the broadcasting rights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinny Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 So the only teams confirmed to be interested are Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen? Why can't the foreign clubs be listed? Sounds like it's just the chairmen of the bigger clubs trying to scare fans into thinking they can take the big teams out of the league leaving us diddies behind. It'll never happen, the same way this Atlantic league or the Old Firm's move to England that have been proposed for as long as time have never happened. Wouldn't mind seeing the supra-national cup tournaments, but I can't see it taking off properly, otherwise we'd still be doing the Anglo-Scottish Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 More scaremongering with Rangers about to get hammered again "Punish us and we'll join the Atlantic league!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Complete non-starter in any case. This atlantic league idea gets floated around every 3 years or so, and never comes to anything. As has been said already, the original idea was floated 12 years ago, and I can't see any indication of any progress on the idea since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.