The first meeting of the working group established by the Super League took place today, Friday, October 2, via teleconference, with the aim of centrally managing television rights and, more specifically, redistributing revenue from the professional soccer clubs’ television rights to benefit “small and medium-sized” clubs. This is an issue raised and championed by the president of the organizing body, Giannis Alafouzos.
Many interesting views were expressed, and the discussion is expected to continue next Tuesday. It is also possible that representatives from the consulting firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte will participate in the next teleconference.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Regarding today’s meeting, it was preceded by a letter from Olympiacos FC that focused on four points: Total revenue, commercialization, centralized management models in other countries, and revenue distribution criteria in other countries.
Yiannis Alafouzos agreed with the main points; however, his objections primarily concern the issue of commercial value: “Commercial viability is precisely what we’re trying not to take into account, given the huge disparity between small and large clubs. The goal is to support the smaller teams with the largest possible amount. If we base it on commercial viability and league standings, it will be difficult to provide stronger financial support to the teams,” he said, emphasizing that when it comes to commercial viability, there will certainly be tensions and disagreements, especially among the Big 4.
The president of the Super League and Panathinaikos FC noted that “if a general agreement cannot be reached, we will have to strike a deal with those who want to be part of this proposal,” and added: “If we can’t reach an agreement and find a solution together, those of us who agree—7 or 8 teams, however many of us there are—will pool our resources!”
Moreover, when Minas Lysandrou of AEK said that we need to examine how to increase total revenue—and not just the portion from the TV contract— Yiannis Alafouzos replied: “TV rights and betting are the only sources of revenue we can increase immediately. The three-year contract currently in place with Stoiximan was a significant move on Mr. Marinakis’s part, but it creates a situation we cannot change, namely, to take advantage of the growing competition among betting companies.”
Leonidas Boutsikaris of Panathinaikos proposed that the league immediately initiate a process in collaboration with the European League to quickly gather the necessary data, since time may be lost with PwC/Deloitte, time might be lost.
Minas Lysandrou, for his part, expressed support for PwC’s involvement and suggested sending an email immediately to the European League and the Players’ Association to examine how other clubs (in Europe) distribute their funds.
On the part of Olympiacos, Evi Koutsaftaki emphasized the commercial viability of professional soccer clubs, stating that it is a fundamental criterion found worldwide and taken into account in all models.
PAOK was represented by Maria Gontsareva, who noted, among other things, that she is in favor of centralized management but wants a clear understanding of the process and rationale that will be followed.
Finally, Katia Koxenoglou, speaking on behalf of Atromitos, raised the issue of the sustainability of small and medium-sized professional soccer clubs, arguing that expenses (e.g., VAR, Goal Line Technology, etc.) are distributed equally among all clubs, yet at the same time, the revenue of smaller clubs does not increase, unlike that of the larger ones.
*photo source: pao.gr
