Dubai: A trans-national league involving the best clubs outside of the top five divisions is the only way to bridge a widening gap between the haves and have-nots in European football, according to Legia Warsaw owner Dariusz Miodurski.
Speaking at the 11th Dubai International Sports Conference at Madinat Jumeirah on Tuesday, the 52-year-old Polish businessman suggested the likes of Legia, Ajax, Celtic, and Anderlecht, among others, should form their own trans-national league, and he said Uefa were warming to the idea.
“This is the direction I see European football going in, the best clubs from the smaller leagues will go into a trans-national league, so you’ll have the top five divisions and the trans-national league as the elite, and I hope Legia will be part of that,” he said.
For those left behind, he offered the hope of relegation and promotion.
“There has to be a mechanism so that doors aren’t shut forever. Clubs that improve and become better managed have to have the chance to catch up, that’s critical.”
Miodurski, who is also an executive member of the European Club Association, claimed that although the idea had been floated before, Uefa were now more inclined than ever to pursue the suggestion.
“I sense an opening of minds from Uefa on that issue driven by business reasons, because without change we will be left behind.”
The Harvard-educated lawyer, whose side became the first Polish club to qualify for the Champions League group stages in 20 years this season, added: “We are living in very tough times.
“We are struggling to deal with the increasing pressure started by the TV money that has gone into the Premier League.
“That has put pressure on continental Europe to compete, particularly the big clubs.
“The top clubs want to make as much money as the Premier League clubs do, and everyone else, which is 95 per cent of European football, is just trying to stay in the game.
“There has to be a serious rethink about what the game means and what direction we go in. “Unfortunately we are going in the way of business, and the top clubs in Europe are getting most of the cake, while everyone else is just surviving.”
Legia were five minutes away from beating Real Madrid 3-2 at home in November but went on to draw 3-3, after having come back from 2-0 down after 35 minutes.
In other group games they lost heavily to Borussia Dortmund 6-0 at home and 8-4 away before a 1-0 win at home to Sporting Lisbon saw them finish third in the group, on four points, advancing to the Europa League knockouts where they face Ajax in February.
“Football is about local emotions, we cannot go about killing that beauty,” he said. “It’s about going to watch your local club and having a big club come to play at your stadium and beating them.
“That’s what the game is all about and keeping that nature is what we really need to try and maintain but the reality is that money rolls. Without change we are going to see an increasing split between the top clubs and the rest of Europe, so there has to be a rethink.”
Trans-national leagues between Scandinavian and Baltic teams have previously existed but ultimately failed to generate enough interest thus revenue to survive. However, Miodurski says a long-muted league between top clubs in “football countries” like Poland, Scotland, Belgium and Holland would sustain itself thanks to the passion of supporters and potential fan bases in those countries.
