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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Mort-ta,10 pints of lager playing tricks with me.
Celtic first-HH.
Hamilton tim what bugs me is why Hoops is,nt up a the centre circle when we have a corner against us and why Fraser do,st sp throw the ball out to the full backs more often
monteblanco
Sensible stuff.
The problem is that there is now an expectation, or dare I say it, a demand amongst football supporters that I don’t believe has existed before. Sadly that has permeated its way into the psyche of your average Tim also.
In England the EPL has become a god, so gilted in gold that chairmen the length and breadth of the country will sacrafice their grannies wallies just to reach it.
This in turn has led to a greed that drives the ambitions and blinded the sense of club’s supporters.
I’ve said for years I’d stand on a hill of sh*** to watch Celtic, I don’t need high sided, sloping stands or fancy fast food outlets but others do.
I couldn’t care if we didn’t sign new players from every continent from here to Antartica but elected to stick with home grown bhoys who really appreciated what it means to pull on a hooped jersey, but others do.
While this attitude persists football will continue to aspire to be like any other global cash cow.
ART OF WAR… That sir was a first class post and read
On more than one occasion the eyes needed to be dried to allow me to finish the article and more than one person has looked in the taxi wondering if I was having a fit or suchlike I was laughing so hard…. Cheers Bhoy that made my day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21478857
“Do Manure really have approx 650 million supporters?”
Mibbe.
But Klan F.C. Must be running a close second with 500 million.
Mind you, zombies just keep on rising.
sorry bad spelling we must get together for a beer
HEBCELT
Ah,my favourite wee hobby-horse. If we have two attackers near the half way line,another about thirty five yards out on the far side and a fourth about twenty five yards out near side,then the attacking team can only really put four men in the box against our six plus a keeper.
We’d be favourites to win the ball,and on our toes for a breakaway….
The Token Tim
Pros and cons to both. I like zonal marking at corners as we seem to do it pretty well and concede very few goals as SuperSutton’s stats show.
I like your thoughts on the end about scouting a referee to see if the defenders can gain some sort of an advantage but sure that would never happen!
Mort
Mort @14:34 a cash cow which no longer produces cannot be milked. Cut the cash – they sell. Cash flow is already falling and with it long term value. We have to arrest that decline because we are in it for the long haul.
Ntasoolla
My problem is not with the idea but the actual decision making.
If we as fans put a board in place we have to decide what powers they have.
Would we have the power to sack a board member?
Would the fans have a say in transfer budgets?
If the fans have too much power we have a club run ( badly) by committee or too little and after 2 poor results we want to sack the board…
Monteblanco
Cheer up. There is always Tini on a Saturday afternoon if he turns up and if he turns up when he turns up.
Costs nowt to watch, crack is good, no police harrassment, chance of a free swally and always the hope of seeing a bit of skill that on other fields of play costs thousands.
Alternatively there is his semi retired brother whose entertainment value is the robust equal of his sibling ;)
!!bada bing!!,
Totally agree.
Dundee have been the biggest victims of the shameful attempt to squeeze them into the league.
I argued earlier that the correct road totake, to try and stabilise the leagues, was to suspend relegation for a season.
Obviously, that would have meant no promotion either, but there had to be a loser.
At least the status quo would have kept all clubs at the level that they had budgeted for……including the new club.
I remember Barca defending a corner at CP,Ronaldhinho , Eto’o and Saviola on the halfway line….
Ok school-run followed by nursery run now arrived.
So much for “working” from home!
Back later.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Hebcelt
I made the point that I think we suffered last night in Perth when we changed to 3-5-2 because we then didn’t have the option of Foster throwing the ball to the full backs because they were then playing much further up the park.
Of course, the status quo would have kept Dunfermline in, but, as they had been already relegated,Dundee should have been given time to arrange their business model.
Shameful all round.
When I was 7, I headered one of those auld stitched leather fitbas…..like gettin’ blootered by Ali. That was any idea of becoming a footballer ended…..immediately.
Also, I once donned boxing gloves, the simple training type to have a round or two with my (now long departed) brother, a Golden Gloves boxer. All was going swimmingly until he roundhoused me a couple of times, hence my thereafter lifelong stupidity. My brain rattled for what felt like minutes.
I took up snooker, swimming, volleyball, and supporting football.
For a time I hustled pool for money, but that’s another story…..some of it was hilariously dangerous.
Ah……cheap thrills….what became of them, and my lost youth?
HH!
Heading an old style bootlace bladder during a game played in the rain or on a puddle strewn playground risked traumatic brain injury.
Mouldmasters were for softies.
RIFC PLC are currently in breach of a number of AIM market rules.
this is from from groves a well respected poster on kds.
!!Bada Bing!!
14:37 on 20 February, 2013
Did Norris only play 2 out of 3 minutes injury time last night?
___________________
Funnily enough, watching it live I was certain he had blown a full minute early.
Watching it later on Alba, the clock showed exactly 93 minutes at the final whistle.
Paul67
Whilst money no longer talks but shouts in football and difficult as it is for sporting integrity to stay afloat on a sea of greed Celtic have a responsibilty, as does any entity, to evolve in the environment in which it finds itself.
There is more than enough wealth created by football to go round. The trick is finding the most sensible way of distributing it.
The problem is that historically geography was the constraining factor but TV broke that constraint by taking football across geographical borders but football acts as if that never actually happened. Those lucky enough to suck in what previously was distributed locally are reluctant to share that added wealth with those who previously enjoyed it.
Perhaps other ways of distribution would achieve the same objective of improved competition regionally without removing borders.
Whatever way you slice and dice it the reality is we are all in this mad experience of life together and borders are just accidents of historical thinking that we ain’t.
Grant Russell@STVGrant
Rangers pay settlement of 820,000 euros to Rapid Vienna for Nikica Jelavic transfer, Austrian club confirms
BMCUWP I,ve never untderstood this tactic and our lack of quick free kicks but then I,m not a coach Hail Hail Hebcelt
KK-Cheers
Thomthetim-Agree,i heard Dundee Chief Exec when they got in to SPL say it was a logistic nightmare to increase Season Ticket prices fron Div 1 to SPL.So they had to sell all ST’s at Div 1 prices.
Auldheid
You got me at ‘chance of a free swally’ ;)
I now have visions of Mr Lynch remonstrating with the ref from the sidelines and gesticulating so hard that the hauf bottle of buckie flew out from his sleeve.
Monteblanco
Ah memories! Lol
Tallybhoy @ 14 33.
The French ?
There are lots of beaches in my wee bit of the world . Locals call one of them Lido Peloso. I thought it was an unusual name for a beach and asked the question -why?-
It’s very popular with French women.
SOAL,
But still chasing oldco for more than a million.
I assume the 820k is money the newco have received for jelavic
The Honest Mistake loves being first
Bang On
Grant Russell@STVGrant
Rangers pay settlement of 820,000 euros to Rapid Vienna for Nikica Jelavic transfer, Austrian club confirms. http://bit.ly/XkSsal
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27 minsStephen@StephenTheCelt
@STVGrant was it Rangers, The Rangers or the Company who is separate remember who paid the bill?
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25 minsJohn McLean@thehotshot67
@StephenTheCelt @STVGrant Charm offensive? ;
Anyone with a Rangers Media Timposter account able to get this pdf? http://t.co/HBTcNEEv
danso_1888
15:06 on 20 February, 2013
——————
From @corsica1968 twitter
——————–
Andrew Young@Hullbhoy
@thehotshot67 @BartinMain @corsica1968 RIFC PLC are in breach of a few market obligations but I really can’t be bothered to pursue them.
———————
4 hrsStill laughing@corsica1968
@Hullbhoy @thehotshot67 @bartinmain Almost as many as Craig Whyte; suspect this is behind Green-Murray feud. Murray has career to think of.
February 20th, 2013
Quote of the Day
Prince Philip to a Filipino nurse earlier:
“The Philippines must be half empty – you’re all here running the NHS.”
Yorkbhoy we the fans would set salaries and transfer and wage budgets.
We’d vote on a new manager. Only thing is we might miss out on a Wim Jansen and therefore a Henrik Larsson. So perhaps managerial votes should be restricted to those who know a lot about football.
If we decide to pay the burger flippers a living wage then good.
If we vote 10% of revenue to charity, so be it.
If we ban Sean Connery from Parkhead then serves him right.
A few folks talking about fhans on the board (not to say the current board aren’t also fans)
But, if we take CQN as a typical demographic example, can you imagine trying to discuss any issues
(Fan director 1 representing the bean counters) So we all agree that season tickets are to be sold at £300 each across the board next season and well announce it, in tomorrow’s newspapers
(Fan director 2: Representing Celtics socialists) Well I know people on the ******* broo so their tickets should be £150 each, unless we show the match for free on their telly and what about kids of the unemployed too, a second discount and lets bring back lift overs for under 21s?
(Fan director 3: The mineshafter) Well we won’t be able to pay Hoopers wages then so it will need to be £500 each if we want better players, but hey we can pay it up weekly. Who wants better players? lets have a show of hands for Ronaldo! Yeehah – don’t anybody tell the record until he arrives here in case he realises how bigoted that they are!
(Fan director 4: representing the wee ned chaps) Do we get to sing rebel songs in a £300 seat and how much is it for kids to stand on a seat? Dae the pies have horsemeat or is horsemeat extra? Can we get a wee voddie in the coke?
(Fan director 5:The green brigade) there’s no such thing as rebel songs only songs of oppression so sing whatever you want, and anyway should we not be able to stand and move laterally at the match but how can we do that if unemployed kids are standing on the seats
(Fan director 6: the usual spoilsport)There will be no rebel songs because we are a Scottish club, and Ronaldo cannae come because the journos threatened to kick his haw maws, a thought about calling the polis then I realised……
(Fan director 7: standing up for minorities) do we honestly have enough Aetheist, Asian, ugly wimmen represented on this board? brother Walfrid we be turning in his grave at you lot! Down with things! Minority rule ya bass!
Chief executive: I’m off, meeting adjourned
(Wait a minute; it must still sound better than a regular meeting at ipox between Chucky and Murray, bomber Broon and the cardigan and co)
Re Rapid
Rapid president Rudolf Edlinger told the club’s website: “We have achieved this after a long and intense but very constructive discussions with the owners of the new Rangers over the payment.”
link
Ntassoolla
Could we also have a vote on whether the GB stay or go?
The results might not be pleasing to some.
Mort