After some horse-trading towards the end of last week, involving a reluctant Spartak Moscow, a huge step was taken on Monday towards establishing a Unified Football Championship across former-Soviet countries. 14 Russian clubs met a representative club from the Ukrainian league in Moscow, with Ukrainian clubs now due a corresponding meeting.
The event was hosted by Gazprom deputy chairman, Alexei Miller, an ally of Vladimir Putin, who afterwards briefed Russian media and indicated Uefa were aware of their plans.
Miller said, “We think it is realistic to hold the championship from the autumn of 2014 to the spring of 2015, but if the time to reach agreements drags on, we plan to hold the championship from autumn 2015 to spring 2016.
“Since a championship like this is a complicated diplomatic matter, we have decided to initiate the championship initially with Ukraine only.
“In the future, if everything works out, we will be able to co-opt clubs from the other countries in the post-Soviet territories, but that’s the next step. All former-Soviet countries would be eligible to join.”
Show me the money
Gazprom sponsor the Uefa Champions League and are keen to sponsor the new league. Miller was clear that money would drive the change, promising annual sponsorship of €1 billion, which in world football is (a close) second only to the value of the next FA Premier League TV contract.
Uefa Financial Fair Play requirements make change, of some sort, inevitable in Russia and Ukraine. Leading clubs there are heavily subsidised by benefactors and, unless they manage to considerably improve their income, they will have to either get rid of all their expensive players, or forgo European competition.
As things stand, the sums don’t add up but money from a Unified Football Championship would allow clubs in Russia and Ukraine to meet Uefa Financial Fair Play requirements and compete with major leagues in the west. Gazprom have the seed cash and political influence, both domestically and at Uefa, to oil the wheels.
In 2005 Uefa sanctioned the Royal League in Scandinavia between the top four clubs from Denmark, Sweden and Norway, but the initiative was poorly organised and perished three years later due to a lack of a TV deal.
After this experiment several clubs across Europe started lobbying to extend the strategy to other leagues which were disenfranchised by a lack of competition or TV income. The principle was further confirmed by Michel Platini and the Uefa Executive Committee in March last year, when they approved a three year probationary period for the BeNe League, which combined top women’s teams from Belgium and the Netherlands, the first season of which is now underway.
The Committee stated at the time that, subject to a satisfactory outcome of the BeNe experiment, other cross-border leagues would be considered by the Executive Committee if all stakeholders (national associations, leagues and clubs) came to agreement on a way forward.
The former-Soviet countries are now motivated to regionalise. The Scandinavians have understood the potential of regionalisation for years but didn’t get it right (they retained national leagues which determined European qualification, the Royal League was effectively a friendly competition). The Belgians and Dutch have a pan-national league already underway, while the former-Yugoslav countries have discussed implementing the same for a couple of years now.
Wales and England have the longest-established regionalised league system in the world.
Meanwhile…………. at a national stadium near you, the only change on the agenda is whether to have three lower leagues or two.
Scottish football is fully aware the viability of many clubs is at a critical level, but have singularly failed to present the vision evident elsewhere in Europe. Whatever world-class technical, stadium and coaching resources we have is being squandered by unambitious leadership.
Months into deliberations Scottish football is only addressing how to slice up an ever-smaller pie. The enormous increase in income possible from regionalisation to SPL clubs, and what trickles-down to the lower leagues, dos not seem to have registered.
Hard cash can focus minds..
Spartak Moscow owner, Leonid Fedun, was highly critical of plans for the new league and insisted he would not attend Monday’s meeting but after doing so he said, “When I heard the budget per year was €1 billion I changed my mind and decided to attend. You can’t miss a chance to be the part of that game.”
Football across Europe is set for change, a fact a great deal of the UK media seem to have missed.
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Milan also benefitted from the Scottish refereeing style that allows for tackles.
Like Juve, they studied the ref.
They went in hard on Barca, mostly fairly, and Barca couldn’t handle it.
Barca beaten by a Scottish team. Now beaten with a Scottish ref.
Milan become only the second home team to win in the CL last 16, and Messi fails to score for only the third time since Barca played Celtic at the Camp Nou!
Can we now look forward to a Celtic v Milan final?
Googybhoy
Football begins and ends in the EPL…dontcha know
Or at least that’s what they think …surprising that their league teams do do poorly in the CL and their national team is pants
Just hearing that a punter had a 1p bet with Coral that would net £1m. He predicted correct scores for all 8 CL games and had 6/6 going into tonight’s games.
Tonight’s predictions were 1-1 in Istanbul and 2-0 to………………Barca!
Craig “prancing horse” Thompson better watch his back.
thomthethim
The Milan rough housing was nothing compared to the assaults perpetrated by the Juve players. I thought Milan were reasonably disciplined, another tactic nicked from Celtic.
Billy Bhoy-He had Juve 3-0 so…………..
Evening bhoys and ghirls can anyone confirm how many victorys we need to seal the championship?
M
….pfayr,
Sorry for butting in, but if that Act was rescinded next year, they will have compiled their stats on one year’s figures.
Then, whenever anyone asks for stats in the future, they will quote, 2012-13, the last year figures were amassed.
This will show an “even” set of arrests.
Forever known as the Graham Principle.
HH
Hoddle, Guillit forget Celtic BEAT Barca.. All the rubbish talk about Chelski failing to best them.
“and The BRIT Award for the Best Yorkshire Bulls#i££er goes to…………”
Thomthethim
Fortunately it’s not just arrests that are considered
The conviction rage is shocking even the with most of the witnesses being police
The judiciary don’t like these prosecutions
doc is NL,
I didn’t mean similar tactics.
Juve knew that the Spanish ref would allow man handling in the box.
Milan knew that the Scottish ref would allow a more robust approach.
One feature of our European performances has been our lack of tackling.
….pfayr
21:43 on
20 February, 2013
Googybhoy
Correct
Milan played exactly the way Celtic played them.
Well done NL.
Hey CRC!!
ah like ye a loater
but yer still shite at 5’s… … ;-)
thomthethim
Fair point, sorry, misunderstood.
Our discipline in not tackling and tackling without giving away fouls has been a feature, one that took a great deal of discipline.
Come on guys. Everybody knows how to play Barca. Chelsea and Inter did it before us, Milan have done it after us.
Lenny deserves credit for organising the team to get the job done.
No reason to change a winning formula…quite a few teams looking for big wins in the second game..should be interesting
Liam Brady – barca will complain big against Thomson. Put the passport away Craig, you won’t be needing it for a while.
Someone posted before that barca could be fantastic with falcao…he’d score buckets full.
Thomson,,, a real donkey of a ref. I wouldn’t about him on his appearances in the spl,,, he’s consistently inconsistent.
About- scout…shorry for the shpelling mishtake bhoys.
I think you’ll find Thompshun called the first goal right. It hit the Milan player on the head even tho he had his hands up.
Unfortunately, that great piece of reffing won’t get him the final as, we’ll be there.
Cue rent-a mib Stuart Dougal telling us tomorrow how great our referees are……….
An Dun
Thompshun won’t need to worry, bonkle fae Dallas is on his side >}
!!Bada Bing!!
Spu Dallas and his world class referees ,every one a fekn cheat.
Not going to post a link in case it upsets some of the wee sensitive souls in here
But has anyone seen the YouTube video of the wee Irish lassie after the 3-0 defeat to Juventus
Quite what the Magdalene sisters would have done with her …….Ishudder to think
mickbhoy1888,
Seen it but, worryingly funny:-)
Mark Daly wins award for the programme that upset Minty. well done.
CaltonTongues
22:09 on 20 February, 2013
mickbhoy1888,
The thing that amazes me about the video is who would have put that out there. Surely not a family member?
celt55,
Yeah, hence the worrying bit.
Just watching Spanish TV dissect the CL games tonight. Much reference to Milan approaching the game the same as Celtic and Chelsea – lots of examples of all 10 outfield players within 25 yards of own goal.
Commentators say Barca penalty should have been given, no question. State of shock in the studio that they have lost and not giving much hope to scoring 3 without reply in return leg.
At least she got all of that out of her system before Lent started.
DeniaBhoy
https://twitter.com/markdaly2/status/304350434552840192/photo/1
I see Sevco get away with £250,000 on the Jellylegs deal with Rapid.
Good night all
leftclicktic – I wonder if Mark ensured Lorn Nimmo got to see all of his research? Maybe Mark will write a book one day because I always thought he had a lot more evidence that didn’t get aired.
Barcelona to score three in the Camp Nou?
I don’t think so!
Dark horses for this competition?
Us!!!!——- or maybe PSG?
With the the squeezing in of absolutely any reference they could manage to the EPL during tonight’s Milan v Barca game, I thought I would take a look at the line-ups for the last England WC qualifier and the game against Brazil.
There were 4 Man Utd players in each of those starting line-ups, with no other single club boasting more than 2 players.
If all the recent media talk is to be believed, we could see Fraser Forster, Kelvin Wilson and Gary Hooper lining up for England in their next friendly. Yes, three players from a club that plays in a minor league somewhere in Northern Europe!
What does that say about the EPL?!!!