Egypt joins Geneva negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty, calls for urgent agreement    Egypt delivers over 30 million health services through public hospitals in H1 2025    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



New UEFA leader Ceferin pledges to protect national leagues
Published in Ahram Online on 21 - 10 - 2016

New UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin wants to protect Europe's national leagues from the threat of breakaway competitions.
Ceferin was elected last month amid talk of a future closed-shop Super League and breakaway cross-border divisions as some clubs seem ready to chase bigger commercial deals by move beyond the bounds of national leagues.
''I am against killing national leagues. That is out of the question,'' Ceferin told The Associated Press ahead of Friday's annual meeting of the group of European leagues.
The former Slovenia soccer federation leader said he is open to innovation - such as creating regional leagues - but within limits and inside UEFA's control.
''There are some new ideas and not necessarily bad, but UEFA should be involved in that,'' Ceferin said in his first major interview at UEFA headquarters on Thursday. ''It should not hurt national leagues because without national leagues I think football is dead.''
Radical change looked possible this year as UEFA was without a president during talks on Champions League entries and distributing billion-dollar annual prize money for the three seasons from 2018.
Some wealthy and influential clubs exploited FIFA's ban of Ceferin's predecessor Michel Platini by framing the negotiations around threats to break away, or force UEFA to lock a cartel of storied clubs into Europe's top competition without the need to qualify via domestic competitions.
Ceferin took office three weeks after UEFA sealed a compromise deal that favored the big-four countries: Spain, Germany, England, and Italy. It left mid-ranked clubs doubting where they fitted in the Champions League's future as broadcasters demanded more high-profile match-ups.
Moving quickly to build relations with European Club Association leaders, Ceferin believes the Super League threat is over for now.
''It would create a war,'' he said. ''We are on the same side with the big clubs. They don't want to do it without UEFA. Clubs also know they would have problems if they would break away. If it would be easy, they would be already gone.''
The latest trend is exploring regional leagues where neighboring countries each provide some teams. The North Atlantic and Balkans are options, creating more compelling and higher-standard competition than the individual national leagues.
Ceferin said cross-border leagues could supplement national leagues, not replace them.
''As an additional competition it's a good idea. (I)t should be played for those who don't qualify for the Europa League and Champions League, maybe from the New Year on,'' he said.
''We can't kill the national leagues. If you take, for example, two clubs out of the Slovenian League (into a Balkan league) then the Slovenian league is over.''
Elected in a landslide with a mandate to help the smaller UEFA member federations, Ceferin also wants to defend tradition.
''People like revolutions, they like to speak about big changes, but you should be clever,'' the criminal lawyer said. ''You should take into consideration everything and national leagues are too important.''
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)


Clic here to read the story from its source.