The power held by the richest clubs in club football in deciding how to run the game has been
reduced has fallen in recent years. This has taken place due to the stand taken by important bodies
especially UEFA and FIFA which has meant that many of football's traditional values have made a
comeback. 2 of these big changes are mentioned here, however, there is still a lot that can be
done.
The year 2003 marks the first year in which big clubs slowly began losing control over how club
football is run. Why? Because UEFA decided to get rid of the second group stage of the Champion
League, which was simply a money spinner for already cashed up clubs. In addition, it led to greater
player fatigue and burnouts, the effects of which were seen at major tournaments such as the 2002
World Cup.
The other loser was the football fan. 2 group stages simply meant that we had to go through watching
each team play 12 games over a couple of months where there would never be a do-or-die situation. It
was ultimately boring and a great shame because the greatness and prestige of the European Cup (as
it was called before) had been built upon magnificent, nerve-wrecking knockout games. Going through
2 group stages before reaching the knockout meant that the spirit of the European Cup was slowly
dying away in the face of money hungry clubs.
The second big change that has taken place in the last couple of years is the disbandment of the G14
group of clubs. G14 was created in 2000 by the biggest, richest and hence most powerful clubs in
Europe Its intention was to promote the interests of its members in the face of political bodies
such as FIFA and UEFA.
However, the interests of G14 rarely, if ever, were in accordance with what was best for the game.
The one proposal that was always a talking point was the possible formation of the European league
which would have been exclusively for G14 members. In hindsight, it's a blessing that they didn't go
through with it, and a lot of it was due to the strong opposition voiced by UEFA and FIFA. It's also
no wonder that throughout G14's existence, the gulf between the richest clubs and poorest clubs
increased significantly. Clearly, G14 was not an organisation promoting football's interests, and
its disbandment in January 2008 means that these rich clubs have lost an influential, or not scary,
vehicle in their quest for world domination.
The removal of the 2nd group stage was just one step in the right direction for football's battle
against club's interests. Political heavyweights especially FIFA and UEFA are going in the right
direction by taking control from the clubs. The new proposed '6+5 rule' seems to be another positive
step forward for football in general if it gets implemented everywhere. In fact, my next article
will cover the advantages and disadvantages of such a rule if it comes into force.
That said, this doesn't mean that we've solved the problem for there is much that can still be done.
For one, the fact remains that most wealth divide seems to be getting bigger and this is putting
small poor clubs under severe financial pressure, potentially making some prestigious clubs go
under. The solution to such a problem is not easy at all, nevertheless I hope to propose some
solutions in my next few articles.
One important feature of football that has possibly disappeared forever is club loyalty. You would
be hard pressed to find a player who stays with a single club for their entire career today. This
may simply be the result of large amounts of money circulating in the game today. In players' eyes,
money seems to give more rewards than loyalty and this is not a good precedent for football.
