Europe's clubs raise stakes By David Bond Telegraph 27/02/2007
Premiership clubs are leading a backlash against Uefa and Fifa which is threatening to cause a major split in European football. With England's top teams awash with cash following their new £2.7 billion television rights windfall, Europe's major leagues are being urged to demand a greater say in how Uefa and Fifa run their competitions. Although talk of a breakaway from the Champions League is being played down, Uefa fear the big leagues and clubs will attempt to set up their own European club competition if they do not bow to their requests. At the very least, the political stand-off promises to usher in a significant change in the way European and world football is organised. Today, at a meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, Uefa's new president, Michel Platini, will have important talks with representatives from the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL). The group, formed in 2004, are chaired by Premier League chairman Sir David Richards and made up of 15 leagues from across the continent. Another seven are due to join later this year. With the influence of the G14 on the wane since Uefa's decision to bring the major European clubs in house with the formation of the European Club Forum, the EPFL's influence as a pressure group has been growing in recent months. Now, with the Premiership flexing their financial muscles following the new three-year TV deal, which starts this summer, the EPFL are preparing to seize a much bigger say in how football is run at international level. The stakes have also been raised by Platini's election a month ago. He has pledged to reduce from four to three the number of automatic Champions League places which are given to Europe's major nations such as England, Italy and Spain. At the same time, Premier League concerns remain over the Independent Sports Report by Portuguese government minister Jose Luis Arnaut. The Premier League claim the report has been hijacked by Uefa and is being used to establish them as a European regulator for the sport. To try to counter those concerns, the EPFL are asking for seats on the Uefa and Fifa executive committees - a move which is likely to face stiff resistance from the traditional rulers of the international game. But the leagues and clubs are frustrated at the lack of influence they have over key decisions which affect what is now a multi-billion pound business, despite being included on various strategy forums and committees over the last year. One senior insider told The Daily Telegraph: "The leagues are responsible for all the income coming into football, but the structure is totally wrong. "The leagues want to have more say and proper representation on the executive committee in Uefa and Fifa. No one at the moment is saying they want to do this without the rest of the football family, we want to work within the football family. But the problem is that the leagues, as employers, are not being recognised. "At the moment, what's more likely is that we will try and work within the structure rather than create a fight." At a meeting in London on Jan 15, the EPFL's board agreed to put the issue of a request for executive committee representation to their full membership later in the year. Jean-Marie Philips, chairman of the Belgian league and a member of the EPFL, was present at those talks, which were held at the Premier League's offices at Gloucester Place. He said: "At the moment there's no question of forming another league and to step out of Uefa, but we ask to have more importance and more power within the decision-making bodies. "At this moment we represent 600 clubs in 15 leagues. We are soon to expand to 22 leagues in a few months. So we ask to have recognition on the national and international level." Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, the EPFL's general manager, tried to play down talk of an impending split with Uefa, and added: "There is no scenario of confrontation. What we need and what we are asking for is enhanced co-operation, possibly through full membership. "We are aware of the problems clubs are facing and we have the expertise and know-how when it comes to running professional football. That's something that must be preserved at all costs - subsidiarity and autonomy." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DKZWGMKTVX11VQFIQMGCF GGAVCBQUIV0?xml=/sport/2007/02/27/sfneur27.xml [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. 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