Can they feck off
Saudi Arabia FA interested in joining UEFA Champions League (Bloomberg)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
How is that remotely precedent?
There are Welsh teams in the English leagues. There are Canadian teams in the MLS (and there used to be what was essentially the B team of a Mexican side, if memory serves). Every single club from Liechtenstein plays in the Swiss system.
These are just FA level agreements for, at most, a handful of clubs to play in a different country's league structure.
For the nth time, yes, because Israel is a member of UEFA. They are a member of UEFA because they were excluded from competing in AFC (the Asian confederation), pretty much entirely because a handful of nations (of which Saudi Arabia were one) refused to play them.
They actually spent at least one World Cup qualifying campaign playing against the O.F.C. nations (New Zealand, etc.) before UEFA granted them membership.
There is nothing to suggest that Saudi Arabia want to join UEFA.
Surely then Saudi Arabia has to play in Uefa qualifying for euros and World cup?
Can't be just in it to promote club football against european teams and suddenly go back to Asia for easier qualifying route.
Even with 16 teams making it now they'd find it much harder to get through a european qualifying process so ironically it would hamper their NT development in the short term (considering they lost to a poor Polish team straight after that historic Argentina win).
This was the most predictable thing ever be and is obviously going to happen.
I can't believe anyone could be remotely surprised by this and UEFA will roll over like the PGA did when Saudi went into Golf
I can't believe anyone could be remotely surprised by this and UEFA will roll over like the PGA did when Saudi went into Golf
Would agree, but there are already Israeli teams that participate in UEFA tournaments so there's already precedent. As stupid as it is, the arguments of them not being in a European doesmtic league doesn't actually hold up.
Israel have been in it for 30 years
Good post.
This is the key here that people aren't realising. If UEFA don't include them they're at risk (not now) but in some years of creating their own downfall. Saudi have enough money to start their own super league and if they continue grabbing all the best talent in the world nobody will watch the UCL anyway and Saudi will be getting all the TV deals.
….sigh….
I'm okay with this if they also agree to have an NFL team in the Champions League next season.
Can we stop saying well Israel are in it by now?
It's been said many times and the reason they are in it is the middle Eastern clubs refuse to play them.
Bringing Saudi Clubs into it to possibly play against them won't exactly solve that
UEFA will have to scrap FFP as well if they do allow Saudi teams.
Well if you knew the history of it there was quite a long process to get approval. The Welsh teams are part of the UK and FIFA has always recognised the unique situation there with the old 4 nations championship of the past etc.
NZ is 4150 kms away from Australia, an Island nation across an ocean to a continental nation. Also NZ is in the Oceania confederation and Australia is in the Asian confederation. Its caused a lot of difficulty with respect to transfer rules between confederations for the teams involved. Canada and Mexico are in the same confederation as the USA.
So the precedent being a club from one country in one confederation playing in another countries confederations competition.
Obviously they would try and football being the most corrupt sport in the world it probably will happen.
And, feck off like all the others here have said.
And, feck off like all the others here have said.
Be hilarious if they got in and drawn against an Israeli team in qualifying.
Whole thing is a total joke, there's maybe a case to look at reforming the AFC Champions League and bringing in some form of linkage with the African champions league which is Arab dominated anyway. Getting matches between the big Egyptian clubs and the Saudis is the best approach.
I'm the last one to say, the game is dead. But this shite even gets me thinking that way.
I’ve not checked how rules are for Asian and Oceania federations so I can’t really comment on it.
Ofcourse. You can’t jump confederations however you want. If Saudi Arabia somehow ends up in UEFA they can’t be in AFC. That is what UEFA rules says. If I’m correct. That would mean that they would need to qualify for WC against Euro teams. They would also qualify for Euro Championship. In other word, they would be member like any other Euro country.
Every change take years and time. So I can’t see this happening as soon as 2025. However, with football now going into a uncharted territory I wouldn’t take anything from the table.
It was very predictable. It won’t be as early as 2025 but will happen eventually, and a CL final in Riyadh is less than a decade away.
Ain’t nobody watching no fecking Saudi super league
okay I'll try not to mention it again if it upsets you
I promise you people won’t stop watching the competition with the clubs they’ve supported their whole lives because Mbappe or Haaland are lining up for Al Hilal
Well NZ is in the Oceania confederation and Australia is in the Asian confederation. NZ's Wellington Phoenix plays in the Australian A league. So as you mention, if a Saudi club jumps to UEFA they cant be in the AFC. Thats exactly what happens here but it causes all sorts of problems. Wellington Phoenix are classed as being in the Asian confederation but its reserve and youth teams are part of Oceania. This causes lots of issues when it comes to transferring players as there are limits on the numbers of times between confederations in a season. The other strange thing is that Wellington Phoenix cant take part in the Asian Champions league but also the senior team cant take part in NZs major cup competitons.
Its really messy but somehow its happened here.
Israel is not destroying the transfer market, disrupting world football with the oil money. Israeli teams are basically irrelevant though they take part as their teams, sports people are boycotted in that region.. I have not seen any team or player complaining about Israeli teams..
If Saudi would enter, so should UAE, Qatar, Egyptian, Iraqi teams etc. as long as they pay.. It is stupid to equate this case with the Israel case. Naturally, unlike the Israel case, there would be huge protests against the Saudi participation..
I know some of the history and it wasn't that arduous a process.
There was precisely one professional side in New Zealand, and they played in the precursor to the A-League back when Australia were still members of O.F.C.
The A-League was being founded, the New Zealand based side re-branded but continued to be one of the worst sides in the league, and had administrative/financial issues, so the powers that be told them they weren't having their licence to play in the league renewed, and it would be given to a new side from New Zealand, which ended up being Wellington Phoenix.
The AFC president tried to kick off but Fifa said it wasn't their remit and as long as the Australian and New Zealand FAs were happy with the arrangement, it was, as I said, an FA level agreement.
I can't speak for transfers, but given that they're also FA/League rules, I can't see why either confederation would be involved.
Phoenix also can't qualify for the AFC Champions League, which would have been at least somewhat analogous if it were allowed.
Australia joining AFC is probably more comparable, but given that (to my knowledge) the move was unanimously agreed upon by all AFC and O.F.C. members, Fifa stayed out of it.
However, Saudi Arabia don't appear to want to join UEFA, and even if they did, I can't see it being a unanimously agreed upon move by the UEFA or AFC members.
There simply isn't precedent for this sort of thing.
As I said, I’m not familiar with rules or deals when it comes to Asian and Oceania federations. For me, when I read your post, it sounds like strange deal.
When it comes to UEFA there are rules which I think is under chapter about membership what it means being member in UEFA, how you can become and so on.
It's not equating it to anything. Just pointing out there is a precedent to allowing non european teams. As that precedent exists, it's meaningless to make the argument that it's a european only competition, because it clearly is not.
If the Saudi's stump up enough cash they'll get a spot. I don't like but it's obviously the case.
There isn't precedent for clubs outside of UEFA competing in UEFA competitions though, which is a far more pertinent point than the repeated harping on about Israel (and to a lesser extent Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, etc.).
but the rationale is completely different.. If Saudi or any other nation's teams, players are being boycotted by the neighboring hostile nations or any other similar reason, then they will have most people's sympathy and many will be fine with this kind of arrangement. But, this is sports washing at the highest degree, like pay for play, as long as you pay, you can do anything. This is against the spirit of the greatest sport of all times, and makes look everything extremely fake to the extent I will throw up..
Very clearly you dont know the history if you are saying it wasnt that arduous a task. You did a quick google and decided you know it all.
Its very clearly a sort of a precedent. Even in your own description you highlight some of the issues that had to be worked through. Jesus wept.
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With bombs going off in the distance like the F1 race a year ago. We already were there to a degree but SA now shows you can not only money launder, you can buy up the world with it while everybody stands by and let's it happen.
Klopp was right when he chastised the press for being up in arms about Qatar being awarded the WC but asking where the outrage was before it was already decided.
Israeli teams started competing in the UCL in 1992, and joined UEFA in 1994
Saudi's are fans of Barca, United and Real Madrid etc. They won't pack their stadiums to watch their domestic leagues. They will pack their stadiums to watch the traditional big clubs.
Their domestic league has zero staying power as currently designed. A washed up Ronaldo and a few decent players doesn't change that. They want UEFA CL or a super league.
Their domestic league has zero staying power as currently designed. A washed up Ronaldo and a few decent players doesn't change that. They want UEFA CL or a super league.
He is just wrong and is now doubling down on it. Time to ignore him, he completely has the blinkers on for previous examples. Maybe he doesnt understand what the word precedent means
Yeah I know the rationale is different, I'm not arguing anything against that. I don't want Saudi teams in the UCL, but the money will win in the end.
If the Saudis can bring this to the table, I say feck it let's do it!Imagine a newly revamped international Champions League with Santos, Boca Juniors, River Plate, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Flamengo, etc, all involved.
There was an alnost immediate transfer of the license to Phoenix, and a proposal from an Australian group to take it was essentially quashed because they had a strong preference for it to remain with a side from New Zealand. I've also not seen any evidence of these supposed transfer issues.
Fifa literally stated it was an FA level agreement, and as Phoenix are banned from the AFC club competitions, there is nothing remotely resembling precedent.
They had been affiliated since 1991, having had a previous affiliation after their exclusion from AFC, and perhaps most importantly, were not a member of another confederation, and hadn't been for years.
Or perhaps you don’t?
Probably a good time to point out that seemingly the only source we have of these supposed negotiations with UEFA is an Italian "football and finance" website that's contact email is a Gmail address. The article in question has absolutely no evidence of this and is basically speculating that the expanded format is starting soon and there are a load of big names now playing in Saudi Arabia that would probably like to play more CL football.
And as someone pointed out here already; who could have predicted the situation that golf’s in a few months ago.
Money talks, sadly.
Money talks, sadly.
I hate football and what’s it become but money and greed rules sadly. As an example, adidas on top of changing kits every year are charging an arm and a leg for an “authentic kit” 50% more than a replica, which honestly looks like shite. Ticket’s unattainable for the average person, etc etc, it’s all shite.
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Plus not having Israel playing home and away in the Middle East doesn't sound like the worst idea
How much is too much before it’s expected the average fan says feck it, im done?
And? Apartheid country shouldn't play anywhere and rightly so.