Manchester United and Liverpool The Big Picture Project It is already under severe pressure after bold plans to reform English football failed to gain support from their Premier League peers.
An extraordinary shareholder meeting this week is likely to be exhausted due to controversy over leaked plans that would reduce the size of the Premier League and give more money to the English. football League The consolidation of the strength of the nine longest serving clubs is first-class.
No Premier League The clubs publicly out in favor of the scheme, most of which were lukewarm at best about the idea. However, some have sharply criticized the way the plans were put together and it is understood that West Ham, one of the clubs set to benefit from the changes, is stunned by the proposals.
In developments adding to the pressure, the government criticized the Big Picture project and called on football to focus on saving clubs struggling during the Covid crisis. Meanwhile, the chief executive of the NLD, David Baldwin, has resigned after just four months in office while his chairman, Rick Barry, remains the only figure who has publicly endorsed the plans.
The association said that Baldwin’s departure “was not related to the big picture project” and that his decision “was made before the details of the proposals were announced over the weekend.”
When the twenty Premier League shareholders roughly meet, they will be clear of one thing, the league itself is standing strong against Project Big Picture. Influenced by Barry’s involvement, they see the scheme as a power grab. Not only by the clubs – the Big Six, plus Everton, Southampton and West Ham – who will gain new voting rights for “long-term contributors”, but through the Premier League as well. On Sunday, Barry did not deny allegations that he offered dissident clubs a place in championship In the event that the planned changes fail.
Premier League officials believe that Project Big Picture, by de-opting for the “one member, one vote” policy that has been a guiding principle since the division’s creation in 1992, will undermine its competitiveness. They also question the sums involved in the plans and whether pooling the TV rights between the Premier League and the Premier League will generate enough revenue to help fund the pyramid.
However, other voices in the game believe that EFL is an undervalued competition, and has a chance to grow its global audience even after Covid.
The Premier League continues to work on its own plans for a “strategic review” of the English game, although details are not available, and it is believed that the absence of such first-class proposals has frustrated the Premier League during negotiations with the government over the past few months.
The government has vehemently opposed these plans. A spokesperson for the prime minister responded directly to questions on the matter, saying, “It is clear that this proposal is not receiving support throughout the Premier League and it is precisely this kind of background dealings that is undermining confidence in the football administration.”
Culture Minister Oliver Dowden said he feared the plans were a “seizure of power” and that he was “skeptical” of the idea. “There is money in sports,” he told Sky News. “They should come together to sort it out.” “If we continue these deals, we will have to look at the fundamental governance of football. We promised a fan-led review in our statement and I must say that the events of the past few weeks have made this seem urgent.”
When contacted, the Ministry for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports will not expand Dowden’s claims. In its final notes on the review, in July, DCMS said: “We will shortly decide the scope and structure of the review and will announce more details in due course.”
With growing uncertainty surrounding the future of clubs deprived of key match-day revenues due to the Covid pandemic, there have been calls to decouple the immediate crisis from long-term reforms.
Darren Bailey, former director of football management and regulation at the Football Association, said any restructuring of the game would be undermined if the bailout was not agreed upon first.
“I don’t think timelines work if I do that by saving the Covid soccer team,” said Bailey. “I think if you can accept that there is a package that saves the league in the short term, then you can focus minds on discussing the bigger issues. There has to be enough time to really test the offers.”
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