Atlantic League (football)
The Atlantic League is a proposed international association football competition to be played in a number of European countries. The aim of the Atlantic League to allow clubs who have been successful in their national competitions to participate in a more competitive league that would be more attractive to fans and television viewers, resulting in higher revenues and the ability to attract more talented players. An Atlantic League would aspire for itself and its clubs to achieve parity with the "Big Five" leagues, which are Europe's largest existing national leagues in England, Italy, Germany, Spain, and France.[1]
2000–01 proposals
The first Atlantic League proposal was made by
By 2001, Fossen had abandoned a parallel idea of setting up a completely Europe-wide league competition (the Euroleague) – he had forwarded this idea through the influential
With a target population of over 40 million in Atlantic League represented countries, and with a proposed average attendance of over 30,000, which would be the third largest of all European leagues, van Raaij hoped to secure a television contract comparable to that of the larger leagues.[3] The Scottish Premier League (SPL) were actively involved in the negotiations, but other domestic leagues affected offered lucrative deals to clubs to remain in their national setup.[citation needed]
UEFA chief executive
2002 proposals
By April 2002, Rangers and Celtic (collectively known as the Old Firm) were openly attempting to secede from the SPL and enter the English league system instead. van Raaij and PSV approached the pair with a new Atlantic League proposal, now featuring between 18 and 20 teams and no longer including the Scandinavian countries. Up to five places would have been awarded to Scottish clubs under the new proposal; significantly, this would allow clubs in the SPL other than the Old Firm to contest the competition. This development came just as those clubs threatened to resign from the league in protest at the dominance of the Old Firm.[6] The new Atlantic League would again maintain promotion and relegation with the national top leagues and facilitate qualification for Europe-wide competition.[7]
North Atlantic League Cup
In the autumn of 2003, representatives of the Dutch, Belgian, Danish and Scottish leagues proposed an alternative competition called the North Atlantic League Cup. It would feature the top four clubs from each of the four leagues in a round-robin group stage followed by a knockout tournament each January, although those still competing in the Champions League or UEFA Cup would be exempt from the competition. Celtic CEO Ian McLeod reassured UEFA that this competition would be complementary to, and not intended to replace, the existing national competitions, unlike the Atlantic League.[8] UEFA replied that international competitions must take place under their jurisdiction, but were not opposed to the idea, only insisting that the national associations involved be in full agreement.[9]
2008 resurrection
In December 2008, Rangers manager
2016 resurrection
Country | |
---|---|
International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
The plan was again discussed in the beginning of 2016
According to Toon Gerbrands (general director PSV) in 2016, the talks were just in the initial stage. He also claimed that the purpose of the discussions was to put UEFA under pressure. [18]
2020–21 proposal
The chairman of Irish club
The chief executive of the Norwegian Premier League, Leif Overland, said "From what I have learned, it seems JP Morgan are involved in the investment and with good financing like that, the proposal must be taken seriously. But I think it's unlikely to be a good audience project because of the teams involved and the biggest challenge would be finding room in the football calendar."[21]
See also
- Royal League – short-lived competition between Scandinavian teams
- Baltic League – similar competition between Baltic teams
- Proposals for a European Super League in association football
References
- ^ a b "Celtic back Atlantic breakaway". BBC Sport. 16 January 2000. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ Ziegler, Martyn (1 February 2001). "Clubs step up pressure for Atlantic league". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ a b Marcotti, Gabriele (20 November 2006). "Bold plan for Europe". The Times. London. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ Tallentire, Mark (8 February 2001). "Uefa moves to head off Atlantic League". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Uefa warn clubs over Atlantic League". [sportbusiness.com]. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Dutch resurrect Atlantic League". BBC Sport. 24 April 2002. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "PSV keep Atlantic dream afloat". BBC Sport. 29 April 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "North Atlantic League Cup is possible by January says Old Firm chief". Scotland on Sunday. 4 August 2002. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ Rodgers, Ian (5 August 2002). "Uefa in cool response to North Atlantic Cup project". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Smith wants to see return of Atlantic league". The Herald. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "SPL open to Atlantic league idea". BBC Sport. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Atlantic League Contenders". The Daily Telegraph, 29 December 2008
- ^ "Uefa would fight an Atlantic League every step of the way" The Daily Telegraph, 2 January 2009
- ^ Jackson, Keith (16 February 2016). "Atlantic League idea could be revived after secret talks with English consortium".
- ^ "Ajax in gesprek over Noord-Atlantische competitie". Het Parool. 13 October 2016.
- ^ Morten Crone Sejersbøl & Søren Hanghøj Kristensen (13 October 2016). "Klar til at forlade Superligaen: FCK forhandler om ny international liga". BT.
- ^ Masters, James (18 October 2016). "Champions League: Are European giants forcing smaller rivals out?". CNN.
- ^ Jeroen Haverkort (13 October 2016). "Gerbrands: Plan nieuwe competitie is pressiemiddel (EN: Gerbrands: Planned new competition is a means of pressure)". Metro XL. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ ""Celtic and Rangers given Atlantic League go ahead but UEFA chief presents two key issues"". The Daily Record. 3 January 2021.
- ^ ""Celtic hold Atlantic League balance of power as Irish chairman reveals major Super League difference"". The Daily Record. 20 April 2021.
- ^ ""Celtic and Rangers on alert as ambitious Atlantic League plans shelved by Norway"". Glasgow Live. 29 December 2020.