Uefa has postponed its decision on overseas league fixtures, opting for broader consultation. This decision signals a shift in addressing football matters, considering the sport’s future. This move could reshape club football and international relations within the sport.
In a surprising turn of events, Uefa has decided to postpone its highly anticipated decision regarding overseas league fixtures. The announcement, made in Tirana, signals a move towards broader consultation, even considering the voices of supporters. This decision marks a significant shift in how football matters are addressed, especially considering the ongoing debates surrounding the sport's future.
The question of whether and how much football leagues should be allowed to move from domestic to international arenas is only now being properly debated in the corridors of power. This debate was ignited by Relevent’s promoter against the United States Soccer Federation in 2019. The prospect of La Liga staging a fixture between Fc Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami is what brought the issue into focus. This move could reshape the landscape of club football and international relations within the sport.
Fifa’s Club World Cup, a major development in the game, has been viewed as a result of Gianni Infantino’s determination. The process Fifa undertook to establish the tournament has led to legal action. On the other hand, Uefa appears to have opted for dialogue rather than conflict.
Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Uefa, hinted at this direction before the Champions League draw in Monaco. He expressed concerns about overseas fixtures, stating that fans should watch football at home. This sentiment reflects a growing apprehension about diluting the essence of local football culture and traditions.
If Uefa’s lawyers weren’t wildly wrong in their calculations then deferral with a chance of dialogue was perhaps the best option Uefa could plump for in the short term. It may best serve its interests in the longer term too. The contest to control the future of the world’s most popular sport continuing to heat up, it is possible to argue that Uefa is among the most vulnerable to any shift away from the current model of the men’s game.
In an interview, Ceferin drew a red line against a biennial Club World Cup. That last line goes against much of the reporting on the topic but was of a piece with a more emollient tone as Ceferin rolled back on remarks Uefa had made months before condemning Infantino’s “private political interests” after the Fifa’s president arrived late for his own Congress after touring the Gulf with Donald Trump. Ceferin told Politico the language used had been “a bit overemotional” and that relations with Fifa were “absolutely” in a better place.
By behaving constructively, Uefa will find itself in tune with another player which could yet weigh in on the future of European football (and by extension the game as a whole): Brussels. The European courts are where much of the battles is being played out, with no ruling more consequential than that involving the European Super League, which questioned the ability of sports governing bodies to act as both regulator and competition organiser without the risk of “abusing” their “dominant position”. The European Commission, meanwhile, is taking more and more interest in ensuring the concept of a “European Sports Model” where open competition runs alongside financial solidarity from the top to the bottom of the pyramid.
Glenn Micallef, the European commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport, made the unusual decision to intervene in the debate over international fixtures last week, describing the plans as betraying supporters and putting the European Sports Model at risk. On Thursday, he spoke again, commending Uefa’s decision to pause and discuss. “This is the right and responsible way to do things; through inclusive dialogue and consultation,” he wrote on social media.
The Commission is the body that initiates Europe’s political direction and if it felt it necessary to intervene to protect the European Sports Model, it could. Such an action would likely throw the existing power structures in football up in the air and being on the right side of any such shift would be to any governing body’s advantage. But while it is unfortunate to lose some battles, sometimes they may help you in fighting a war.