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Soccer fans across Europe have joined the growing concern over the Champions League reforms, claiming that the proposed expansion “will consolidate the dominance of elite clubs in perpetuity.”
With just a few weeks before UEFA executives are expected to decide on their Horizon 24 proposals, which would add four more days to the Champions League and allow clubs to qualify based on their historic performance in Europe, there is a belated attempt to reject changes those who feel that their voices have been ignored.
Among them are the people who, in non-pandemic times, fill the continent’s stadiums. On Thursday, the coordinating body Football Supporters Europe published a 24-page manifesto criticizing current UEFA proposals and making recommendations to, it says, “ensure that clubs and communities across the continent enjoy a fair share” of the economic growth of the UEFA. game.
“Proposals to reform or replace UEFA club competitions by expanding the UEFA Champions League or establishing a separatist super league are flawed,” the FSE argues in its “position paper” on the reform. “If done, they will further undermine the… basic principles of sporting merit.
“More specifically, the evidence suggests that adding more clubs and games to European competitions will increase inequality between and within national leagues, cement the dominance of elite clubs in perpetuity, and make football less entertaining in the long run. “.
Citing, among other voices, former The Guardian football correspondent Arthur Hopcraft, the ESF together built a picture of how the proposed changes have reduced, over the years, the centrality of supporters in the sport. He also makes a series of recommendations that would make the game “more European, more diverse and more open.”
Among the commitments would be the recognition of the “central importance of national competitions in the football pyramid” and “the contributions of fans to European football”.
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Recommended changes include avoiding “further fragmentation of the matchday calendar”, a “more equitable distribution of income among participating clubs” in the European competition, and a “dramatic increase in solidarity payments for the benefit of non-participating clubs” .
“The process of developing such proposals must start and end with consultation and cooperation between all stakeholders, including supporters, both at European and national level,” the document concludes. “Ultimately, dialogue presents the best opportunity to create a game that works for everyone.”
