Football Governance

[The Prophet]

17 minutes ago, Stifler said:

We’ll not see it anyway.

I doubt Labour would actually implement it. So far they same to be very more of the same, but just not as bad.

 

Even if we do get it, it will mean fuck all in anyway as other regulators like OFGEM has spent the last 3 years fucking customers over in favour of profits for the energy companies, and OFCOM has allowed the likes of GB News spread lie after lie and let them call it news.

 

It has crossparty support, so unless there's a last moment change of course, it should start going through Parliament.

 

Also worth mentioning OFGEM and OFCOM aren't independent regulators, they non-ministerial Government departments.

[Stifler]

1 minute ago, The Prophet said:

It has crossparty support, so unless there's a last moment change of course, it should start going through Parliament.

 

Also worth mentioning OFGEM and OFCOM aren't independent regulators, they non-ministerial Government departments.

My local MP this week gathered his party together and told them to support a parliamentary bill to end no fault evictions, meanwhile he is a signatory on the no fault eviction my lasses boss has received.

 

Forgive me for thinking any of them would either have the inclination or the ability to do anything to regulate football for the better.

[The Prophet]

Just now, Stifler said:

My local MP this week gathered his party together and told them to support a parliamentary bill to end no fault evictions, meanwhile he is a signatory on the no fault eviction my lasses boss has received.

 

Forgive me for thinking any of them would either have the inclination or the ability to do anything to regulate football for the better.

 

Yep, Parliament is full of cunts, no doubt.

 

While an independent regulator would be answerable to Parliament, it's free from direct government interference unlike OFCOM or OFGEM.

 

Obviously a bill would need to make it through Parliament before we even worry about that.

 

[54]

Quote

The top European leagues and players' union Fifpro have filed a legal complaint against Fifa with the European Commission over what they claim is an "abuse of dominance" by world football's governing body.

The European Leagues, which represents 39 leagues - including the Premier League - and 1,130 clubs across 33 countries, claim, along with the European branch of Fifpro, that Fifa has abused its role under European competition law when it comes to the international fixture calendar.

The Spanish La Liga is not a member of the European Leagues but is joining the action.

Alexander Bielefeld, director of policy at Fifpro, said the different parties "had submitted a legal complaint to the European Commission" and called it "unprecedented".

BBC Sport looks at the case from both sides and the arguments being made.

How did we get to this?

There has been an ongoing row about the number of games players face during a season and this is the latest legal action that has been filed on the issue.

The Professional Footballers' Association joined a legal action against Fifa in June about the "overloaded and unworkable" football calendar.

The PFA and the French players' union filed a claim at the Brussels court of commerce "challenging the legality of Fifa's decisions to unilaterally set the international match calendar and, in particular, the decision to create and schedule the Fifa Club World Cup 2025".

There are scheduled to be 12 European representatives at the expanded Club World Cup, to be held in the United States from 15 June-13 July.

The tournament was confirmed by the Fifa Council in December 2022 and the PFA argues it is a "tipping point for the football calendar and the ability of players to be able to take meaningful breaks between seasons".

Fifpro has also claimed, external "Fifa's decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players".

What does the football calendar look like?

This season, all three European club competitions have been expanded to 36 teams. The Champions League and Europa League have eight first-phase games, compared to six in the 2023-24 campaign.

The PFA highlighted that for some of its members "the 2024-25 season is set to roll almost seamlessly into the 2025-26 season".

The Premier League campaign finishes on 25 May, before the Champions League final on 31 May.

There will then be a window of international games from 2-10 June before the start of the extended Club World Cup.

Manchester City wanted a delay to their matches at the start of the 2025-26 season because of their involvement in the Club World Cup, but do not think the Premier League will agree to such a request.

The next World Cup then takes place in the summer of 2026, with Canada, Mexico and the United States being the co-hosts.

What do the players say?

Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri recently said players are close to going on strike in protest at an increase in games.

The 28-year-old featured 63 times for club and country last season as he won the Premier League and European Championship.

According to a recent Fifpro report on player workload, Rodri was included in 72 matchday squads for club and country, including pre-season friendlies, between July 2023 and July 2024 - totalling 6,107 minutes on the pitch.

Rodri played more than 550 minutes for Spain at Euro 2024, featuring in each of the seven games until coming off injured at half-time in the final on 14 July.

He returned to action on 8 September for his country in a Nations League game against Switzerland before suffering a season-ending knee injury playing for City against Arsenal on 22 September.

Switzerland and Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has joked he may have to retire at 30 because of relentless fixture schedules, while Liverpool keeper Alisson has also complained over a perceived lack of consultation about the football calendar.

"Sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games," said Alisson, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

"Maybe our opinion doesn't matter, but everybody knows what we think about having more games. Everybody's tired of that."

that "in a bid to expand its competitions and increase its revenue... Fifa has failed in its regulatory mandate".

"This is unfortunate but the message we have together is very simple - enough is enough, we can't take it any more," said Mathieu Moreuil, the director of international football relations and EU affairs at the Premier League.

"We now have an international match calendar beyond saturation, which creates a lot of issues for domestic leagues in terms of scheduling and other domestic competitions, and an international match calendar that creates risk for players and their health.

"We've tried to engage with Fifa on that for years now without any positive response."

Lorin Parys, chief executive of the Belgian Pro League, added that just when the threat of a European Super League had been averted "here comes Fifa through our backdoor whistling, yelling 'surprise'," in "the seeds of what could become a Super League in the future".

"Fifa should really be fronting as a friend but it acts more like a foe. That's something we want to change."

 

[Guest]

 

Aye, can definitely see this going well 

[Ben]

I'm not sure how this will work out, just pushes the big teams closer to a European Super league.

[Stifler]

39 minutes ago, Ben said:

I'm not sure how this will work out, just pushes the big teams closer to a European Super league.

I don’t see it being much different to now to be honest. Even the stuff about sending money down to the EFL, whoever they get to run it, I doubt will end up giving them more than they already get.

[FloydianMag]

 

[Keegans Export]

The original white paper did have a few bits and bobs about not discouraging investment and the possibility of using owner guarantees as a way of demonstrating financial sustainability. 

 

From what NDM is saying, they're basically going to leave the financial rules/controls to the Premier League/EFL which seems a contradiction so presumably something has changed since the original publication?

[FloydianMag]

 

[Stifler]

3 minutes ago, FloydianMag said:

 

Seems weird for him to be changing his time lately.

Maybe the tide, PR wise at least is turning.

[r0cafella]

15 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Seems weird for him to be changing his time lately.

Maybe the tide, PR wise at least is turning.

Kieran Maguire has always held this position I thought?

[54]

Premier League coming out with utter horseshit shocker.

[Stifler]

30 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Kieran Maguire has always held this position I thought?

He was massively against our takeover, or at least dismissive of it. First he was saying it makes sense then buying us, it would make better sense buying Man Utd, then saying they will never do anything or have any intent to do anything etc.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Stifler said:

He was massively against our takeover, or at least dismissive of it. First he was saying it makes sense then buying us, it would make better sense buying Man Utd, then saying they will never do anything or have any intent to do anything etc.

Really? 
 

Sounds more like that Simon Chadwick bloke

[r0cafella]

A lot of folks have more objections to the Saudis buying us mind. Not sure what it has to do with his position in the independent regulator and PL's stance. 

 

You can be against our takeover on moral grounds and also believe the PL is a racket. In fact I'd say most on here feel that way

[FloydianMag]

 

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

Was the maxi sake subject to APT/regulatory scrutiny? 

[Dr Jinx]

14 minutes ago, Shays Given Tim Flowers said:

Was the maxi sake subject to APT/regulatory scrutiny? 

 

Yes, iirc there was a slight delay in announcing the move as it had to be approved.

 

I always thought we could have wrangled a few extra million on that sale but maybe the price was something that wasn't going to get looked at too hard.

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

That’s where the burden of proof shifting will really help. 

[54]

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/43020658/european-super-league-re-launched-96-team-unify-league

 

Quote

Super League promotor A22 Sports said on Tuesday that it had submitted a proposal to UEFA and FIFA, asking football's governing bodies to formally recognise its right to organise a new European competition.

The move follows a ruling by the European Court of Justice in December 2023 -- after the Super League sought protection for its plans under EU law -- which held that UEFA and FIFA had been "abusing a dominant position," calling their rules governing new formats "arbitrary."

UEFA then said it believed rules brought in since the Super League's attempted launch in April 2021 had ensured it now complied with EU law.

On Tuesday, A22 said it had applied to UEFA and FIFA for "official recognition for its new cross-border European club football competitions," arguing that the ECJ ruling meant that "any competition where qualification is inclusive and meritocratic, and which complies with the overall match calendar can be officially established."

A22 said its latest proposal included changes to its model -- which was most recently set out hours after the December 2023 ruling -- after consulting with football clubs, leagues and other groups.

"A key feature is a revised qualification system in which club participation is based on annual, domestic league performance," the A22 statement said.

"Our extensive engagement with key stakeholders revealed a number of pressing challenges facing the sport including increasing subscription costs for fans, an overloaded player calendar, insufficient investment in women's football, and dissatisfaction with the format and governance of the current pan-European competitions," A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said. "Our proposal is designed to directly address these challenges."

A22 has said Super League matches would be broadcast on a new streaming service, Unify, which would offer a free-to-air model, supported by advertising.

On Tuesday, the firm said the Super League would now be known as "Unify League" to reflect that.

In December 2023, Reichart said the new format would involve a three-league, 64-club men's competition and a two-league, 32-club women's competition -- with promotion and relegation between leagues -- to replace the UEFA Champions League and Women's Champions League.

The Super League project was initially backed by 12 member clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the Premier League clubs soon distanced themselves from the plans under pressure from fans and the UK Government.

After the December 2023 ruling, the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga and Serie A -- as well as a number of top clubs and the European Club Association -- all reiterated their opposition to the Super League, and their support for competitions organized by UEFA

 

[LFEE]

2 minutes ago, 54 said:

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/43020658/european-super-league-re-launched-96-team-unify-league

 

 

 

[Stifler]

Just waiting for Liverpool, and Arsenal fans to defend it.

[geordie_b]

Unity League?

 

[Kid Icarus]