Coach_McGuirk
09 Sep 2003, 10:04 PM
OK, fellow football guys and whatnot, jwaldman11 suggested a petition at www.petitiononline.com but had no time to do anything on it currently. Since I have hours of free time (or, in this case, 20 minutes or so) and I am also prematurely becoming a "crotchety old man", I whipped up the following.
Please comment with any additions or changes you feel are needed, and we will post it at petitiononline.com and pass it around BigSoccer.com and any place else we can think of.
So, without further adieu, here it is:
"To: Lennart Johansson, President, U.E.F.A. (The Union of European Football Associations), the members of the Executive Committee of U.E.F.A., and the members of the Marketing, TV, and New Technology Panel of U.E.F.A.
We, the soccer fans of North America, ask that in future negotiations concerning the television rights to U.E.F.A. Club Competitions (i.e, the U.E.F.A. Champions League and the U.E.F.A. Cup) that a minimum requirement be set for both number of games and overall percentage of games to be broadcast in North American markets, so that fans in these markets will be provided with more comprehensive coverage than is being provided by the current rights-holder, the Walt Disney Corporation, parent company of ABC, Inc., parent company of ESPN, Inc., the broadcasting outlet for U.E.F.A. Champions League competition in North America.
ESPN, Inc. has continually reduced the number of matches broadcast in North America during their association with U.E.F.A., retarding interest of not only U.E.F.A sanctioned competitions, but also in the sport itself.
The soccer fans of North America only ask that President Johansson, the members of the Executive Committee, and the members of the Marketing, TV, and New Media Panel ensure that any agreement concerning television rights in North America follows the principles of U.E.F.A.’s own mission statement, specifically to “increase access and participation, without discrimination on grounds of gender, religion or race, and support growth in the grassroots of the game”, and “ensure that the needs of those playing the game and the interests of fans are properly reflected in UEFA’s thinking.” "
Yes, No, Maybe? Needs work? Help me out, guys....
Please note that in the actual text, the following words are in bold:
Paragraph 1: "minimum requirement be set for both number of games and overall percentage of games to be broadcast in North American markets"
Paragraph 3: "increase access", "support growth in the grassroots of the game", and "interests of fans"
Please comment with any additions or changes you feel are needed, and we will post it at petitiononline.com and pass it around BigSoccer.com and any place else we can think of.
So, without further adieu, here it is:
"To: Lennart Johansson, President, U.E.F.A. (The Union of European Football Associations), the members of the Executive Committee of U.E.F.A., and the members of the Marketing, TV, and New Technology Panel of U.E.F.A.
We, the soccer fans of North America, ask that in future negotiations concerning the television rights to U.E.F.A. Club Competitions (i.e, the U.E.F.A. Champions League and the U.E.F.A. Cup) that a minimum requirement be set for both number of games and overall percentage of games to be broadcast in North American markets, so that fans in these markets will be provided with more comprehensive coverage than is being provided by the current rights-holder, the Walt Disney Corporation, parent company of ABC, Inc., parent company of ESPN, Inc., the broadcasting outlet for U.E.F.A. Champions League competition in North America.
ESPN, Inc. has continually reduced the number of matches broadcast in North America during their association with U.E.F.A., retarding interest of not only U.E.F.A sanctioned competitions, but also in the sport itself.
The soccer fans of North America only ask that President Johansson, the members of the Executive Committee, and the members of the Marketing, TV, and New Media Panel ensure that any agreement concerning television rights in North America follows the principles of U.E.F.A.’s own mission statement, specifically to “increase access and participation, without discrimination on grounds of gender, religion or race, and support growth in the grassroots of the game”, and “ensure that the needs of those playing the game and the interests of fans are properly reflected in UEFA’s thinking.” "
Yes, No, Maybe? Needs work? Help me out, guys....
Please note that in the actual text, the following words are in bold:
Paragraph 1: "minimum requirement be set for both number of games and overall percentage of games to be broadcast in North American markets"
Paragraph 3: "increase access", "support growth in the grassroots of the game", and "interests of fans"