World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

GlobalfootballintelliGence

accountourserious financial
challenges,lackofinfrastructure
andfacilities,African football could
probablybethebiggestbeneficiary
ofa WorldCup everytwo years.”
A fewmoreweeksand(surprise,
surprise!)theprospect of a FIFA-
approved AfricanSuper League
hoveintoview.
Infantinohadplantedtheseed
duringanAfricantourinNovember
2019. He hadtolda mediabriefingin
DRCongo:“Wehaveto take the 20
bestclubsinAfricaand have them
playin an Africanleague.Sucha
leaguecangenerateat least€200m
inrevenue,which wouldputit in the
toptenintheworldovernight.
“Weaim[forthis]toraise€1 billion
sothatwecanprovideeachAfrican
countrywitharealfootball stadiumto
FIFAandinternationalstandards. We
willtakethebest Africanreferees, we
willpaythem.Wewillprofessionalise
refereeinginAfrica. I wanttolift
Africanfootball to thetop of the
world.”
Astowhethera SuperLeague
wouldreplace theAfricanChampions
LeagueandConfederationCup,he
didnotsay.Enoughtoputtheidea
outthereandwhethislisteners’
appetitefornew money.
Motsepewas delightedwithwhat
heheard andsetdiscussionsintrain.
Healsoessayedaneatshaft at the
patronisingattitudeofsomeEuropean
FAsby saying:“We have followed the
attemptofcertainbigEuropeanclubs
toset up sucha competitionandwill
trytolearnfromtheirfailure.”
Africahasplentyofmajorclubs,
fromEgypt,MoroccoandTunisia
inthe northdowntoSouth Africa
itself, whereMamelodiSundowns
areownedbynoneotherthan
Motsepehimself.
NoonewillopposeanAfrican
SuperLeague, thoughnailingthe
detailswillbe complex.Presumably
thelaunchdatewilldependona
projectionofAfrica’semergencefrom
thepandemic,wheneverthatmay be.
Then,shoulditinvolve 20 clubs, 24
oreven 50? Shouldtheformatmix
knockoutandmini-leagues?
Mostimportant: howwilltheclubs

beselected?Everyregionwillexpect

toberepresented.Afterall,Infantino

willnotexpect Motsepetosowany

seedsofvoter unrestin hisnew

kingdom.

Progresswill be watchedintently

inSouthAmerica:CONMEBOLnever

needsanyencouragementtocreate

newclubcompetitions;sameagain

forCONCACAFin Northand Central

America.Howeverthatisasfar as

itgoesfornow.Oceania,missing

Australia,lacksthe numbersand

cashfor sucha competition. As for

pandemic-batteredAsia,the AFChas

enoughproblemsrightnowin trying

tostageits existingevents.

UEFA will keepa wary eyeonthis

newdirectionofSuperLeagueattack.

RealMadrid, BarcelonaandJuventus

havemerelyputtheirown projecton

hold,havingconcededthepolitical

anddiplomaticblundersoftheir

premature breakawayadvance.

After all, Infantinowas nevergoing

toapproveanyeventcreatedoutside

whatpredecessorSeppBlatteralways

called,protectively, the“FIFAfamily.”

FIFA’s lawyersarejealouslyalertto

shootdownthreats to itsmonopolistic

authority. Theirlatestcourtvictory

hasbeencelebratedin theUnited

Statescourts.

A casewasbroughtbythe

agencyRelevent,whichorganises

theannualInternationalChampions

Cup.Releventwantedtogoone step

further. Thiswouldhaveinvolved

stagingintheUS oneofBarcelona’s

Spanishleaguematches – similar to

theschemeonceconsideredbythe

PremierLeagueas“the 39 thmatch.”

TheSpanishfederationsaidNo.

LaLigasaidNo.TheUSSoccer

FederationsaidNo.Finally, FIFA

saidNo. So ReleventlookedtoUS

anti-trustlegislationtochallenge

FIFA’s monopolisticpowers– in vain.

Manhattan DistrictJudgeValerie

Capronisaid Releventhadfailedto

showthatFIFA’srefusalofpermission

demonstratedanillegalconspiracy.

Releventwillbekeepinga close

watch on aseparate challengeto

thedominantpowerofinternational

federationsattheEuropeanCourt

ofJustice.TheMadridCommercial

Court wants to knowwhetherUEFA’s

disciplinary actionagainstthe

EuropeanSuper Leagueclubs

breaches EuropeanUnion

competitionlaw.

Isthisimportant?Yes.Potentially

thiswouldbeevenmore important

thantherevolutionary Bosman

Verdictin 1995 , whichblew away

foreignplayerrestrictionsand

createdstratosphericinflation

intransferfeesandwages.

TheMadridcourt,RealMadrid,

BarcelonaandJuventushadhopedto

jumpthe EuropeanCourt queuefora

quickruling.Nosuchluck.Thedelay

waspresentedasa victoryforUEFA.

Nothingofthesort.TheSpanishjudge

andthe threeclubsmust wait.Butso

mustUEFA–andFIFA.Perhapsnot

until nextyearwilltheydiscover

whethertheyreallydopossessthe

powerstheyhavealwaysclaimed.

PatriceMotsepe...the

CAFpresidentalso

ownsSouthAfrica’s

MamelodiSundowns

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