BBC overkill on reporting proposed european super league

I've no huge interest in football (apart from having lots of grandsons who are footie mad and running a rather unsuccessful Fantasy Football team ), but even I can see that this is a massive news story, worthy of the attention it's getting. Others have explained it better than I could, but it's a twisted tale of greed, ethics (or lack of), ambition and the betrayal of grassroots supporters. You don't have to be a sports fan to take an interest.

I would be delighted if this leads to football having the shake-up it deserves and getting back to basics, with more home-grown talent and fewer super-rich businessmen involved. I doubt that'll happen though.

Thousands are dying in India of Covid every day, their crematoriums are overrun, supplies running out. Yet this morning the first 15 mins of the BBC news at nine was taken up with football. What does it say about the world?

I used to love football but have very little interest in it now. Even the last World Cup was boring. How would this super league thingy affect the World Cup? Johnson is certainly more proactive about this than he was when Covid reared it’s ugly head last year. Maybe if he’d been on the ball last spring we wouldn’t have the world beating death rate we have now.

Aveline

It is just all about money. If no one pays to watch these matches then it will all fold.
Real fans can form alliances to the other smaller clubs and support football that way.

The owners will make loads of money from televising games, particularly in the Far East, Middle East and Africa. They will also sell merchandise in those countries; they don't need fans in the UK going to matches to make money.

There is not much real understanding of football here. Often the clubs formed in traditional workplaces like foundries and factories. Football was a healthy pastime to let off steam and get healthy exercise for those who do not have money to spare.

It was a working class game that grew fan bases from local communities and was often a family outing to "the match"

I did think a huge mistake was made when they allowed foreign wealthy men to buy clubs. Especially from countries where football is nothing to do with their indiginous culture. Bescause they do not "get it" I am thinking of Arab states and the USA.

If a small group of super wealthy, and greedy men want to destroy this culture so they can be even more wealthy it is important because it is also a sign of much worse to come.

Only want the rich want is important. The rest is superflous.

It is just all about money. If no one pays to watch these matches then it will all fold.
Real fans can form alliances to the other smaller clubs and support football that way.

We are all different. I would have been surprised had the majority of GN's been avid football fans. It doesn't mean that nobody should post anything about football, surely. There are several posts that I am not interested in or that do not apply to me, so I pass them by but they may be just the ticket for others. This proposed Super League will have serious repercussions for thousands of people employed by football clubs throughout the country likely resulting in job losses and clubs closing their doors. Football is a part of our rich history and many people feel very strongly about the new proposal ignoring that fact. It is news and needs to be reported.

I don't think you ABU at all EkwaNimitee however important it may be to some, this should not be having the coverage it has been getting.

Well it keeps the Indian coronavirus variant off the top slot. So no explanation for the delay in adding India to the red list.

It's a good move politically (I loathe him but he always has his eyes on the main chance), it would be very popular if he was able to stop it.

So Johnson is thinking of bringing in legislation to stop it - can’t be because he is seeking popularity is it? We’ve allowed football clubs to be bought and sold by foreign oligarchs, sheikhs and the like - no legislation to stop that. I can't help but think that there are issues that have been waiting for years for legislative attention and should be prioritised over football. The state of the housing market, sexual crime reform, women's rights, child poverty, Brexit impact on Northern Ireland and small businesses, the environment and the dire state of Britain’s waterways..........

AGAA4

Money. That is all this is about. Football used to be a game for the poor and has been hijacked by the super rich. They aren't interested in football just how much money they can make out of it.
I have sympathy with the managers and players who don't want this to happen

I totally agree Agaa4...????????

EkwaNimitee out of interest, what was your expectation for headline news?

Money. That is all this is about. Football used to be a game for the poor and has been hijacked by the super rich. They aren't interested in football just how much money they can make out of it.
I have sympathy with the managers and players who don't want this to happen

I have zero interest in football, but can understand enough to understand that this is all about a group of wealthy men who own some of the top football clubs for the money they can make for them, trying to make sure that they can make even more money by running their teams seperately from everyone else and to the disadvantage of the remaining national teams in whatever country they are in.

Football is a game that started as a street/village green game that flourished and grew and as well as being fun to play, requiring little in the way of expensive equipment or kit, watch children playing it in any park or playground, became very popular a spectator sport that is now being exploited by, mainly, indecently rich men, to make themselves richer.

The principles here go further than the game and the rich parasites who own them. It goes right back to the purpose of sport and who does it at playing field and sports centre level and people's commitment to their sport and to see greedy guys like this lot, damage the way the sport runs just for the money, is distasteful, to put it mildly.

I think professional football clubs should be owned partly by their fans, who should be able to affect how the club is run.

I’m not sure you’re fully in the picture EkwaNimitee. If it comes to the crunch and Boris is seen to have a hand in stopping this happening, his personal kudos will rise enough for him to have a very good chance to win the next election, no matter what else happens in the interim, that’s how important it is to the future. I hope the football bodies themselves can sort it out without government intervention.

EkwaNimitee

It may be of interest to millions but that hardly justifies it taking precedence over everything else that's going on in the world. That's the point I'm making.

Well, some people are interested in one topic, others not, that's just the way it goes. Tomorrow it will be something else that takes precedence, today's news wraps up fish and chips tomorrow.

I thought the Tories were strong proponents of laissez faire?

It may be of interest to millions but that hardly justifies it taking precedence over everything else that's going on in the world. That's the point I'm making.

Not just Americans but also various Middle Eastern countries, China, Russia, Thailand, Pakistan, Italy the list goes on.
The clubs have made it clear that the fans don't matter, profit is the name of the game.

I believe that German football teams must have a majority of their shares owned by the fans which may be one reason that no German teams have joined this group

Abramovich is Russian, Lewis is British and Mansour is from Abu Dhabi. Its not only rich Americans who are ruining the game.

This is an area the fans could have some impact if they stopped buying the overpriced tickets and attendant merchandise and stopped paying extra to watch these matches on television. But they won't.

Personally. I loathe football but many people don't, and they are being deprived of a relatively innocent pleasure by the greed of American venture capitalists.

To quote Bill Shankly:
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.

Whether we like it or not, sport is the lifeblood of millions of people in this country, and it’s absolutely appropriate for this to be given top billing on the news. Politics is there every day.

I'm not interested in sport but listening to the reports it does seem like this is a really big deal. I gather some supporters of these clubs are tearing up their season tickets (personally I would have tried to get a refund but have no idea if that is possible).

It seems this it is thought this Super League will have a detrimental effect on the clubs in the lower leagues so perhaps it is big enough news to take up time on the various news channels.