http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/07/18/former_yugoslav_region_highlig.html In addition, this Garber quote from March 2005 (link is dead however, but I got the quote from an old thread) http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~29581~2764408,00.html
I think Celtic and Rangers would be more likely, although the post only specifically mentions central and eastern Europe.
Since these proposals mean more for the bigger clubs and less for the mid-size clubs it follows the major trend of the richer getting richer.
Worst. Idea. Ever! There's already too much schedule conjestion, as well as travel concerns. I can't see how this is anything other than a way for already rich club owners to make more money. For the MLS this would be a disaster.
As businessmen, these guys, Garber, Gazidis and company, have impressed me from the very beginning. Their vision here is substantive and relatively early. In several decades, I would not be surprised if MLS/MLF and/or SuperLiga force Europe's hand to form a real Champions League to the detriment of the individual national leagues. What is becoming readily apparent is that the NHL will have little chance to compete against MLS at some point in the future. That is not a knock on the NHL or hockey, but it is a useful benchmark to guage where MLS can be as a business enterprise. It is no wonder that Maple Leafs S&E and the Vancouver NHL people want to invest in MLS now. The league has reached an inflection point, one that is symbolized by Beckham and the attention he has brought, and it should seek to capitalize on that by incrementally enhancing the quality of play and quality of fan experience. Based on the last year's developments and the rumors regarding the salary cap and International players, it appears that the owners are moving in that direction. Kudos to MLS leadership and the owners. As a fan of American soccer, I feel very comfortable with these guys in charge.
Here's a post by SheffWedfan about this topic I just thew this together for the heck of it for UEFA: each league would have a top division of 20 teams competing for the regional title on a simple single table home-and-away basis (38 games), with linear promotion and relegation within each region. The number of "qualifiers" shown would qualify for the post-season "Champions of Europe" playoff - 64 qualifiers in total, which would then be independently seeded and drawn into a straight 6-round knockout competition (64/32/16/8/4/2), 2-legs home and away each round until the final, to find an overall European Champ! I have no idea whether it would work or not, or be beneficial, but it could be fun thinking about it! __________________________ ALPINE LEAGUE (3 QUALIFIERS) Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland Aarau, Austria Wien, Basel, BSC Young Boys Berne, FC Superfund, Grasshopper-Club Zürich, Grazer AK, Luzern, Rapid Wien, Red Bull Salzburg, SC Rheindorf Altach, Schaffhausen, Sion, SK Sturm Graz, St. Gallen, SV Mattersburg, SV Ried, Thun, Wacker Tirol Innsbruck, Zürich BALKAN LEAGUE (4 QUALIFIERS) Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia Banat, Bežanija, Crvena Zvezda Beograd, Dinamo Zagreb, FK Sarajevo, Hajduk Kula, Hajduk Split, Makedonija Gjorche Petrov, Mladost Apatin, NK Domžale, OFK Beograd, Osijek, Partizan Beograd, Pobeda Prilep, Rabotnički Kometal Skopje, Šibenik, Slaven Belupo, Smederevo, Vojvodina, Zagreb BALTIC LEAGUE (3 QUALIFIERS) Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland Arka Gdynia, Cracovia Kraków, Ekranas Panevėžys, FBK Kaunas, FK Ventspils, Flora Tallinn, GKS Belchatów, Groclin Grodzisk, JK Trans Narva, Korona Kielce, Lech Poznan, Legia Warszawa, Levadia Tallinn, Liepājas Metalurgs, LKS Lódz, Odra Wodzislaw, Skonto Riga, Vetra Vilnius, Wisla Kraków, Zaglebie Lubin BENELUX LEAGUE (5 QUALIFIERS) Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands Ajax Amsterdam, Anderlecht, AZ67 Alkmaar, Charleroi, Club Brugge, De Graafschap, Feyenoord, Genk, Gent, Groningen, Heerenveen, NAC Breda, NEC Nijmegen, PSV Eindhoven, Roda JC, Sparta Rotterdam, Standard Liège, Twente Enschede, Utrecht, Vitesse Arnhem BOHEMIAN LEAGUE (2 QUALIFIERS) Czech Republic, Slovakia 1. FC Brno, Artmedia Bratislava, Baník Ostrava, Dukla Banská Bystrica, Dynamo Ceské Budejovice, Jablonec 97, Kladno, MFK Košice, MFK Ružomberok, Mladá Boleslav, MŠK Žilina, Nitra, Senec, SIAD Most, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Slavia Praha, Slovan Liberec, Sparta Praha, Teplice, Viktoria Plzen BRITISH-IRISH LEAGUE (6 QUALIFIERS) England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Celtic, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Rangers, Reading, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United GALLIC LEAGUE (5 QUALIFIERS) France, Monaco AJ Auxerre, AS Monaco, AS Nancy-Lorraine, Girondins de Bordeaux, Le Mans UC '72, Lille OSC, Lorient, Metz, OGC Nice, Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint-Germain, RC Lens, Saint-Étienne, SM Caen , Sochaux-Montbéliard, Stade Rennais, Toulouse, Troyes AC, Valenciennes GERMAN LEAGUE (5 QUALIFIERS) Germany 1. FC Nürnberg, Alemannia Aachen, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus, FSV Mainz 05, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hansa Rostock, Hertha Berlin, Karlsruher SC, MSV Duisburg, Schalke, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen IBERIAN LEAGUE (6 QUALIFIERS) Andorra, Portugal, Spain Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Belenenses, Benfica, Deportivo de La Coruña, Espanyol, Getafe, Mallorca, Osasuna, Porto, Racing Santander, Real Madrid, Real Valladolid, Real Zaragoza, Recreativo Huelva, Sevilla, Sporting Braga, Sporting Lisbon, Valencia, Villarreal ITALIAN LEAGUE (6 QUALIFIERS) Italy, San Marino Atalanta, Cagliari, Catania, Empoli, Fiorentina, Genoa, Internazionale, Juventus, Lazio, Livorno, Milan, Napoli, Palermo, Parma, Reggina, Roma, Sampdoria, Siena, Torino, Udinese MEDITERRANEAN LEAGUE (4 QUALIFIERS) Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Malta, Turkey AE Larissa, AEK Athens, Ankaraspor, Aris, Atromitos, Beitar Jerusalem, Besiktas, Ergotelis, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Gençlerbirligi, Kayserispor, OFI Crete, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Panionios, PAOK Thessaloniki, Sivasspor, Skoda Xanthi, Trabzonspor SCANDINAVIAN LEAGUE (5 QUALIFIERS) Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden Aalborg BK, AIK Solna, Brann, Djurgårdens IF, FC Copenhagen, Haka, Hammarby IF, Helsingborgs IF, HJK Helsinki, Honka, IF Elfsborg, Kalmar FF, Lillestrøm, Midtjylland, Nordsjælland, Odense BK, Rosenborg, Stabæk, Tampere United, Vålerenga SOVIET LEAGUE (4 QUALIFIERS) Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine Amkar Perm, Chornomorets Odessa, CSKA Moscow, Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk, Dynamo Kiev, Dynamo Moscow, FK Moskva, FK Rostov, Krylya Sovetov Samara, Lokomotiv Moscow, Luch-Energia Vladivostok, Metalist Kharkov, Rubin Kazan, Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast , Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow, Spartak Nalchik, Tavriya Simferopol, Tom Tomsk, Zenit St. Petersburg TRANS-CARPATHIAN LEAGUE (4 QUALIFIERS) Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Romania CFR Cluj, CSKA Sofia, Debreceni VSC, Dinamo Bucureşti, Gloria Bistriţa, Levski Sofia, Litex Lovech, Lokomotiv Sofia, MTK Budapest FC, Oţelul Galaţi, Pandurii Târgu-Jiu, Politehnica Timişoara, Rapid Bucureşti, Sheriff Tiraspol, Steaua Bucureşti, Unirea Urziceni, Universitatea Craiova, UTA Arad, Vaslui, Zalaegerszegi TE TRANS-CAUCASIAN LEAGUE (2 QUALIFIERS) Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia Ameri Tbilisi, Ararat Yerevan, Banants Yerevan, Borjomi, Dinamo Batumi, Dinamo Tbilisi, FK Baku, Inter Baku, Khazar Lenkoran, Lokomotivi Tbilisi, MIKA Ashtarak, MKT Araz Imisli, Olimpi Rustavi, Olimpik Baku, PFC Neftchi Baku, Pyunik Yerevan, Sioni Bolnisi, Torpedo Kutaisi, WIT Georgia Tbilisi, Zestaponi
I think this in essense helps the smaller leagues. In our region for example a Central American combined league would i think greatly benefit the region, considering they are having problems paying players. i can see north america having four leagues MLS , LMF, Central American Super league, and a Caribbean Premier.
I think this would work for some of these smaller Eastern European countries, as travel would only take a few hour. Whereas in N. America could you imagine traveling from Toronto to somewhere in Mexico? would where down players, fans in no time. Plus doesn't alot of the E. European countries have a shared rails system which is fairly cheap?
I'm tellin' ya... Top 9 MLS + top 9 FMF = SuperLiga. The rest of MLS and the rest of FMF battle for promotion to SuperLiga every year. BOOK IT! 2014.
Except FMF has a multi-level pyramid that allows even small clubs the opportunity to reach the top level.... Would the MLS suddenly allow a pro/rel system so a small team from Idaho, USA, or Halifax, Canada could make it into Superliga at some point? Or does the top division of FMF decouple from the divisions below it? Cheers!
A realistic setup for CONCACAF: -Mexican League (already exists) -North American League of USA and Canada (read: Major League Soccer, already exists) -Central American League -Caribbean League (for our region this would be the biggest improvement) MLS and FMF would never merge. Garber is going to expand his league to 16 teams in the next few years. So which 10 of those 16 go up?* The other 6 are going out of business if not selected? I doubt those 6 teams would choose to continue operations if jettisoned to the USL. So that will never happen. This country is too large to have a successful soccer league with only 10 markets (really 9 in that scenario, as you'd assume one of those would be Toronto for the Canadian interest). * I'm assuming a 20 team league with equal representation from each side. A conference-style setup with 12 or 14 teams each would not work and would defeat the whole purpose of merging in the first place, get the Mexican teams playing in the USA for $$$$.
If it did "replace" domestic leagues, would that inevitably mean the end of promotion/relegation? Interesting...
I can see the rebirth of hooliganism in these leagues... Especially for those in the Balkans, with the Yugoslav War still fresh in their minds...
I like this idea a lot. During the CCC I was thinking about how these two areas could actually develop some decent leagues if they combined in this way. I think it would help the Concacaf Champions League possibilities as well.
We had a thread on this not long ago, and I thought the most interesting observation came from Peter Wilt, who mentioned in response to a pro/rel question that the only way he could see it happening was a merger between MFL and MLS. In a follow up question he noted the difficulties, but still, I don't think this is as far fetched as many people think. The biggest difficulty has been FIFA's policy on domestic leagues -- if that barrier is removed, I think this could happen very quickly. I really think as an intermediate step they would divide into two ten team conferences, equally drawn from MFL and MLS, seeding four playoff teams from each, and promoting and relegating from those conferences as well (1 from each). The second divisions would probably be exclusively domestic. Not only would conferences preserve some domestic identity during the transition, the league could also elect to have an unbalanced schedule to cut down travel somewhat (perhaps home/reverse in conference and only one game against each team in the other conference). If this is true, it is a huge, huge change in the world of international club football. Here is the original thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=575161
Yes!! This is the real purpose. To help smaller leagues. The Mexican league has a high level of competition. And the MLS is getting to the same level. Central America needs this really bad. Caribbean teams would have it a lot harder because flying is not cheap.
Im sorry, this is completely different from the topic, but id like to ask something. How can u become one of those kids who walks with the soccer players?
It wouldnt be much of an issue for Brazilian, US, or Mexican teams as they already have major travel plans. A typical game between the galaxy and Revolution is like 3500 miles. it would really only come into play for much smaller leagues.. IE all of western Europe combining to be one big league (which would be amazing btw) Imagine Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, ManU Chelsea, Lyon all in the same league. And i dont mean league that consistes of a group stage followed by a knockout stage, but a full 38 game season. It would also but remove one of the biggest reasons people go to Europe to play... Champions league.
Not trying to be critical of your remarks. But the idea that FIFA would follow the lead of a league that has to give away many of its tickets just to have stadiums that are 3/4ths to half way full is really scary. The MLS is not even a profitable model yet, its just has a few teams that say they are profitable w/o opening their books to prove the numbers. So far MLS has relied on double hitters with international friendlies and Beckham's arrival as a way to spike its attendance and justified landing TV deals. Even worst is MLS business first, good soccer second thinking. Nothing wrong with making a profit, but when you are constantly figuring out ways to exploit the sport you could end up killing it in the long run.