Olivier Jarosz’s Post

Club Football is being dominated by a few. We made an analysis in our latest #PitchSideMonitor

⚽️ Union of European Clubs (UEC): A New Path for Football Governance? 📈 As a Football Executive at #EintrachtFrankfurt responsible for analyzing developments in international football and their impact on #Bundesliga clubs, and football governing bodies such as European Club Association (ECA) and European Leagues my job requires constant monitoring of trends and changes in the football sector. 💡Last year, a compelling idea emerged - the creation of a new representative organization for European football clubs that felt underrepresented in existing bodies. This notion gained momentum and led to the inception of the @Union of European Clubs (UEC) following an inaugural event in Brussels, which successfully secured funding LALIGA and legal incorporation. 🌐 Intriguingly, the UEC has expanded its reach to Social Media, documenting their journey across Europe and engaging with various football clubs. Recently, I had the privilege of participating in a meeting with clubs from Germany, thanks to the excellent organizers, including Jonas Schlevogt from VfL Bochum, and the enthusiastic participants. ⚖️ While the football community faces numerous challenges, we must ponder whether the solution lies in further expansion of governing bodies and formal stakeholders - maybe UEFA improved accessibility will siffice. Is a multipolar football ecosystem better equipped to address the sector's obstacles? Furthermore, is the current governance system of association football, with one national association, one vote, appropriate for club football? 🗓️⏳ It is imperative that we initiate discussions on national and international club level on these pivotal questions before delving into any specific matters. Time is of the essence, as several crucial issues demand attention on the current agenda and should not be postponed. 🤝 I look forward to engaging in fruitful discussions with organizations such as Bundesliga clubs, UEFA, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and other stakeholders to strategize and find innovative solutions for the future of football. Together, let us pave the way for a stronger and more united football community. #UEC #ECA #EuropeanLeagues #FootballGovernance #BundesligaClubs #EuropeanFootball

After 20 editions, the unique #PitchSideMonitor is dedicated to our core expertise on European #ClubFootball! ⚽ While discussions on #Distribution, #SolidarityPayments, and the European Season kickoff 🇲🇨 are underway, at LTT Sports we've been diligently analyzing the essence of club football over the summer. Here's a summary: 📌 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 & 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞: Is the recent surge of clubs dominating their leagues a new trend, or are we observing a historical pattern in motion? 📌 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 & 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞: Showcasing the strong relationship between European victories and domestic league triumphs. 📌 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞:The cyclical influence of European revenue in bolstering clubs' domestic prowess. For executives, it's clear: club strategies and financial trends in the UCL were adjusted. Consequently, clubs are rethinking their: 💰Strategic football investments ⚽Club objectives aligned with European aspirations 🏆Synchronizing fanbase desires with domestic competition needs and the imperative to excel in Europe To determine a 'dominant' European football club, we looked at league winners over 40 years. If a club won 𝟓𝟎% of the decade's titles, it was '𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠'. If it won 𝟕𝟎%, it was '𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭'. Changes since the 1980s, like the end of the Soviet Union, affected league structures as well as Bosman ruling. Now, fewer clubs win titles and more leagues have one top club. More in our newsletter to expand your insights! Team Ajay Abraham, Konstantin Kornakov, Yannick Avognon, Adam Metelski https://lnkd.in/e4SxMVdP

After the European Court of Justice ruled that banning clubs from joining a European Super League was unlawful, A22 Sports Management have unveiled their plans for a new proposed European competition 👀 🔘 64 clubs across three leagues 🔘 Three leagues named Star, Gold and Blue 🔘 Star league will have 16 teams, so does Gold 🔘 Blue league will have 32 teams All clubs will play in groups of 8, home and away, resulting in a guaranteed minimum of 14 matches per year. 👉 2 teams bottom of the 2 groups in Star League get relegated, and are replaced by the 2 finalists of Gold League. 👉 2 teams bottom of Gold League are relegated, replaced by the 2 finalists of Blue League. 👉 20 out of 32 teams in Blue League exit the competition, and are replaced by 20 NEW teams based on the performances in their Domestic League. 👉 The competition will be played mid-week, compatible with Domestic Leagues. 👉 League will last from September to April. 👉 Play-offs will be played April - May. A number of European teams have already published statements rejecting the new Super League 🙅 Thoughts? 🤔 #Football

Should clubs be accountable and should governments intervene? The Law, precedents, dangers and reasons for and against this important area are discussed in this article published by leading Legal Periodical Law360. @FIFA, @PremierLeague, @DepartmentforCultureMediaandSport.

Explained a little more with insider knowledge: If the number of clubs becoming UEC-members (Union of European Clubs) continues to increase as it has in recent months - possibly including top clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt which observes the current trend - that will be an interesting development. It could start a process that might transform the structure of European club football by introducing a vote for the many - estimated approx. 1.000 - clubs that currently have no representation anywhere. Also based on history as most of these clubs do not play „European“. European Club Association (ECA) will be far from happy as it has so far been officially recognised by both UEFA and FIFA as the sole, independent body for football clubs at European level. The future will show whether this can or will remain. If one assumes that there are +700 top division clubs in Europe (and European Leagues) and ~600 second tier clubs and clubs at lower levels playing professional football, then the 140 ordinary ECA-member clubs - only those have voting rights and can bring about changes - represent something more than 10% of professional football clubs in Europe. So far, the big clubs have believed in revenue sharing votes in their own favor, as they generate most of the revenue and have made the UEFA Champions League the best and most prestigious competition in the world. This also applied to participation in European club competitions or the representation of clubs and governance. Consequently the important decisions for all clubs were made by a powerful minority, while the majority of clubs were not represented. Formally, the decisions were taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, which, in accordance with the statutes, correctly approved the ECA clubs’ proposals for their area of responsibility. But perhaps from the perspective of the unrepresented clubs, the solidarity payments should have been adjusted more closely to the increase in income over the years, although they have been improved recently. The cake to be distributed will increase from around 3.5 to 5 billion euros per season from 2024 onwards, big enough to give the “smaller ones” more fair consideration and - perhaps including representation. But fair will, as so often, be a question of point of view.

Yasin Patel FCIArb discusses recent examples of government intervention in football, sportswashing with respect to Newcastle's Saudi-backed takeover in 2021, and bribery related to the hosting of FIFA World Cups, in Law360. Follow the link below to read his full article. #SportsLaw #SportsRegulation #FIFA #Sportswashing

Here is a great article covering contracts in #SportsLaw Players who enter into more than one employment contract covering the same period will only be able to render services to one club because no player may be registered with more than one club at the same time. Such a player will inevitably be in breach of the terms of one or both their contracts. In South Africa, rule 41.15.1 of the NSL Handbook provides that a matter involving a player who has entered into multiple contracts must be referred to the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC). Depending on the facts of the matter, the DRC may order a player who has entered into more than one employment contract to pay one of the clubs compensation, which may be payable by both the player and their new club. The DRC may also hand down sporting sanctions, such as, banning the player from playing official matches for four to six months and/or imposing a transfer ban for two consecutive registration periods against a club found to have induced the player to breach a contract. Conclusion It is important for football clubs and players to be cautious and seek legal advice when concluding pre-contracts and exercising options given the risks involved. Clubs who seek to enlist the services of a player within the six-month period before the expiry of the player’s current contract should first establish whether there is an option in the current contract. Failure to do so may result in protracted litigation which can cause damage to the reputation of the club and a player’s career.

When can a professional football player sign a pre-contract with another when his club has an unilateral extension option in his current contract? Sibusiso Dube and myself discuss the tussle between pre-contracts and options in football in this article - https://lnkd.in/d3rhMKmB #sportslaw #footballlaw

A new survey by Fair Game UK has revealed near total opposition to the leaked Premier League’s ‘New Deal’ proposals, but who are Fair Game and what do they do? As part of our Sports Finance and Sports Governance modules, I spoke to CEO Niall Couper about the organisation, their aims and future plans north of the border. #SportsManagement #SportsFinance #SportsGovernance