Power Politics Strikes Back

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Author: AntoniodaSilva Total views: 10 Word Count: 608

The control and influence of the largest football clubs in the world on how the game is run has been significantly reduced in recent times. This is largely due to the stand both FIFA and UEFA have undertaken, in particular 2 changes which will be talked about in this article. Nevertheless, there is still much to do.

In 2003, UEFA decided to finally do away, with the money-spinning second group stage of the UEFA Champions League. It gave the big clubs a great opportunity to make some extra but in return the players played more games and as a consequence succumbed to burnout. This ruined what could have been a great spectacle.

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.

However, despite the advances made in the last couple of years, there is still much left to be desired. The difference between rich and poor does not seem to be closing, meaning that even small clubs that consistently get full houses are struggling to break even. This is the sad reality of those that have got it all and those that have barely anything. The solution to this problem is not easy, however I will outline some potential solutions in future articles.

Club loyalty is one aspect of football that seems to be extinct. These days, money talks louder than ever before, probably because there's more of it going around. The new generation of players are also more arrogant than before and as a result club loyalty has taken a beating. If this continues, who knows where football will end up in future years?

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About the Author

About the author: Antonio da Silva is the main writer of SportsNewsFootball.com, a leading sports news football website renowned for its fearless and acute analysis of the major issues affecting the beloved game of football.

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