It was only in February this year that the proposed Russia-Ukraine joint league first reached the stage of formal meetings between clubs to discuss the viability but tonight a showcase tournament between top clubs from each country gets underway tonight. It is hoped the formal joint league will start this time next year when the top nine teams from each country will form the Unified First League.
Despite discouragement from Fifa, Uefa have insisted only that proper procedures are followed to give their ascent to the league. Gazprom, the Russian energy giant and Uefa Champions League sponsor, has underwritten the project with a commitment of 1 billion euros per annum.
As we know, in football, money talks, and the Russian and Ukrainian clubs, together with their national associations and Uefa, have been talked happy to make change possible.
In order to become competitive with their rivals in the west while meeting Uefa Financial Fair Play rules, Russian and Ukrainian clubs need to increase income, which the Unified First League would go a long way towards. Uefa president, Michel Platini, has long accepted that regionalisation was a viable way forward for domestic leagues, while former powers in smaller leagues have become disenfranchised from the game’s top table.
What does it mean for us?
Well, we don’t have a Gazprom, not yet, anyway, but once Gazprom’s financial and political muscle establishes the principle of regionalisation, that principle is available to all. Former Yugoslavia countries are already in talks, while Scandinavian countries have already had a few abortive attempts at (underfunded) regional cup competitions.
The British region.
Welsh football has managed to retain its national identity, provide an infrastructure for provincial and community clubs, while federating with the FA in England to allow their larger (sic) clubs to find their competitive level.
The model is already established for Scottish football, which has realised living with one (or two for that matter) massive club which completely invalidates their league competition as a ‘competition’ is no longer the best way to order their affairs.
Financial recklessness caused the collapse of one club a year ago while the recklessness of a Lithuanian bank has put another in jeopardy. A handful of other top-flight clubs now realise their financial commitments, not to mention sporting objectives, are no longer viable, with or without the crumbs from the table thrown in their direction when TV cameras and a few thousand fans arrive a few times per season.
Federate with England, just as the Welsh did. It will bring ‘competition’ back to our competitions, put thousands of everyone’s gates and provide access to viable commercial contracts.
Why are our leagues and Association not speaking to the English about this right now? The Football League in England is every bit as much a basket case as Scottish football right now, they also need to change the structural model and, unlike the equally lunatic (English) Premier League, appear to be self-aware in this respect.
Go talk to the Welsh FA, Cardiff City, Swansea, Wrexham or New Saints FC (!) and ask them what organising their game along the lines of the Scottish model would do to them.
Scottish football must federate or it will die. As such, if we stand on the precipice of crisis, let’s make it a good one. It’s the only thing which will get things moving.
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new article posted.
canamalar1,
I agree that the blame rests with the mine owners.
Anyway, still don’t see why we need big windmills, I remember being told years ago that Scotland was leading the way in hydro electric power and we would all have cheap clean fuel in the future.
Back to lurking
DBBIA
I reckon you have gone native.
And that your love of D&G would be significantly less had you found yourself in,say,Newton Stewart…
Headtheball,
:oD
During a discussion about geothermal generation that was an argument offered, what happens when all the heat is used up, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, this was supposed to be an engineer too.
I tried to explain that by the time we used up all the heat we’d likely have evolved beyond the need for energy, or we’d all be dead from the nuclear winter.
She is gone
You can shed tears that she is gone Or you can smile because she has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her Or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember her and only that she is gone Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
David Harkins
Hello all, from a very downcast, dreich, hun-infested Ayrshire. That link last night to the “Broon” family choir was brilliant. I have a suggestion for their repertoire; The wheels on the bus go round and round ……. all day long”
Por Cierto
13:17 on 28 June, 2013
Wind Farms.
A lovely wee village in Ayrshire call Straiton is having an almighty struggle with Wind Turbines…
http://savestraitonforscotland.com/
por cierto
=================================
Straiton’s chock-full of Hun inbreds. Put ’em up and paint ’em green, I say.
I must be in a minority of 1. I actually like the ole wind turbines. Having lived in a rainforest which has now been utterly destroyed by avaricious politicians, I am all for any God-given renewable energy being harnessed for the good of the community.