Glasgow Loon Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Roddy Forsyth's view (from today's Telegraph): "The possibility of an Atlantic League is back on the agenda, involving clubs from Scotland, Belgium, Demmark, Sweden and Holland. It was first mooted in the 1990s, but enthusiasm waned repeatedly in the face of Uefa's policy of maintaining the primacy of national associations. Uefa felt that the foundation of trans-national leagues would threaten the authority of national associations, but that article of faith has been weakened significantly by veiled threats by super clubs to institute a breakaway European League. The immediate danger of such a schism has been averted by the agreement to permit four teams from each of England, Germany, Italy and Spain to have automatic access to the Champions League group stage. However, there have been parallel talks among smaller European countries about the formation of regional groupings and The Telegraph understands that a Balkan League - comprising the former Yugoslavian countries, possibly with Albania and Greece - is the most advanced. Informal discussions about a North Atlantic League have also been held, with a proposed start in 2021 to coincide with the end of the current Champions League broadcasting cycle. A North Atlantic set-up, including the likes of Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Anderlecht, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen and Malmo, is more likely to confine Scottish participation to the Old Firm plus one - probably Aberdeen. Rangers have been more preoccupied with the immediate task of restoring themselves as a force in the Scottish Premiership after four seasons in the lower divisions following the financial meltdown at Ibrox in 2012. Celtic, though have investigated alternative futures in detail and their belief is that the Old Firm - and also Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian - would add much greater value to the Football League than the addition of Conference clubs or franchises. Celtic are understood to favour a pyramid system open to other SPFL clubs, solidarity payments, their continued participation in the Scottish Cup and the possibility of maintaining colt or 'B' teams in the Scottish leagues. The downside, for Celtic in particular, would be a mimimum of five years without European football, assuming that they would be able to sustain continuous momentum towards the ultimate goal of a place in the Premier League. For the moment, though, we must wait to see how much appetite the Football League clubs have to be game changers - in a radical sense." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeLurker Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Dinamo vs Zvezda would be interesting to watch unfold in an all police leave cancelled sort of way, but it probably could happen if UEFA gave the green light given how dire the leagues are in that part of the world now and the precedent that has been set by basketball where Zagreb and Belgrade clubs do play each other regularly. I find the Atlantic League idea a bit more far-fetched because the Dutch have a strong enough league of their own that they probably don't need us at this point and that's a big part of why the idea died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrif John Bunnell Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Serbia vs Albania went so well in Euro 2016 qualifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Anything that gets Celtic and Sevco to f**k and out of Scottish football is good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 At least some transnational leagues are coming down the chute IMO, partly as an undercard to a European super league. A Balkan League makes most sense competitively speaking but also has the most historical baggage and logistical issues. A Danube League of the former Austro-Hungarian states of Austria, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary would be the most feasible version in terms of logistics and has roughly comparable strength of leagues. I think that there would be a great incentive for the bigger clubs of those four countries to work on the idea, but a precedent would have to be set elsewhere. An Atlantic version is the most difficult to piece together, given the number of potential countries and the quite large disparities between the biggest and smallest clubs representing the 'elite'. The exclusion of Norway from this version for example is bizarre, but is presumably designed to make the number of teams work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee-Bey Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Could be utter carnage at some of those fixtures in the Balkans League. As for the ugly sisters leaving, meh. If they go they go lock stock. Colt teams in the SPFL and Scottish Cups can GTF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 By the sounds of it Celtic wants the Scottish League to be relegated to the status of the Football Conference... Plonked down under League Two with a handful of clubs venturing into the Football League. No surprise they'd be happy to keep playing in the Scottish Cup and place a 'B' team in the current Scottish Premiership, though. Atlantic League idea must have been trotted-out a dozen times now. Surely the difficulties are the same as before - why would the Dutch be interested? How would it be better for the top clubs from such a disparate and generally unconnected series of nations (Scananavia/Low Countries/Scotland) to put together an artificial league, with little by the way of rivalries and tradition, which only one of them can win each year, and which presumably won't be awarded 8 or more CL places and EL slots for everyone else? Why would all the other clubs in their countries agree to it? I can see why something like a Balkan League (or indeed a Scandinavian League) may appear more attractive on paper. However, about half the internationals between ex-Yugoslav nations end in riots, so surely the security issue along would be a major stumbling block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvo Montalbano Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I can almost see a Balkan League if the fans could be trusted not to kill each other, and I could just about see a Danube League. These would be like the nations that existed pre-World War I and they are all linked by decent road and rail links (although there are still customs check points in the former Yugoslavia). An Atlantic League though? With no real history or rivalry between the counties? Having to take airplanes to the majority of away games? Including the Eredivisie which is still a decent enough league and gets a pretty good TV deal at the moment? I can't see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 There's no chance of this ever happening, and it utterly bemuses me it's always brought up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 52 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said: I can almost see a Balkan League if the fans could be trusted not to kill each other, and I could just about see a Danube League. These would be like the nations that existed pre-World War I and they are all linked by decent road and rail links (although there are still customs check points in the former Yugoslavia). An Atlantic League though? With no real history or rivalry between the counties? We could have a British Empire League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 5 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: We could have a British Empire League. I think we would struggle to beat The Isle of Man over three legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 It's claimed it would be the 3 "biggest" clubs from each country? So I imagine the journalist has just forgotten to list Norway - 18 teams would make more sense than 15 teams. For sake of argument taking "biggest" as highest attended (e.g. I note he says Aberdeen not Hearts), you'd be looking at:Brugge Standard Liege Anderlecht Copenhagen Brondby Aarhus Ajax Feyenoord PSV Eindhoven Rosenborg Stavangar Valerenga Rangers Celtic Hearts Hammarby AIK Malmo Is that really so much more attractive than domestic football? Also worth noting 4 of those countries currently play regular seasons, and 2 summer seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Won't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 The inclusion of Swedish teams is a strange one, always thought they had a pretty strong league on their own. And would this be a summer league as I'm sure Sweden and possible Denmark play March to November Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionel hutz Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 An Atlantic league would be interesting, it would most likely two leagues of 18. Atlantic League A Ajax PSV Feyenoord AZ Alkmaar Anderlecht Club Brugge Gent Standard Liege Celtic Aberdeen Hearts Copenhagen Midtjylland Brondby SonderjyskE Malmo IFK Gothenborg AIK Plus a tier below that with United, Hibs and Rangers 15 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said: I find the Atlantic League idea a bit more far-fetched because the Dutch have a strong enough league of their own that they probably don't need us at this point and that's a big part of why the idea died. Here en lies the problem, the Dutch have a 12-year TV deal at €1bn that last until 2024. Eredivise - £68m p/year - until 2024 SPFL - £21m p/year - until 2019Allsvenskan - Belgian First Division A - £17m p/year - until this year Danish SuperLiga ???- until 2021 So it would be atleast 10 years off before any Atlantic League would be near formation, and by that time, the Sky bubble will have burst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 1 hour ago, Torpar said: The inclusion of Swedish teams is a strange one, always thought they had a pretty strong league on their own. And would this be a summer league as I'm sure Sweden and possible Denmark play March to November Denmark play a regular season but with a winter break from mid-December to mid-February. Sweden and Norway both run March to November but of course they only do 30 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandcowden Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 5 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said: Dinamo vs Zvezda would be interesting to watch unfold in an all police leave cancelled sort of way beautifully put,sir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazza Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I don't see it happening espeically as a full season league anytime soon as would open can of worms and surely the a Euro super league would happen. Maybe as some sort of side league like the Brazlians have their state leagues before the national league season. Sadly I can see the champ league taking over the Europa league and some sort of tier system much like the nations league for internationals. They will probably pick the top 40 or so clubs that they want as founding members and a couple of token spots for the rest. The top tier will not be decided by domestic leagues but on previous euro season. EuroLeague Soccer Elite division - 4 groups of 6 (top 2 go through to quarters, bottom 2 relegated to championship Championship - 8 relegated elite teams guaranteed spots here next season all other places will be qualified for through national leagues. Basically double safety net for the likes of Chelsea last year they could have been in elite division and even if they got relegated from that and did not do well enough domestically they have a year in championship to win a promotion slot. Euro shield - Some sort of cup for teams that don't make it past championship qualifiers perhaps designed in such a way to given more games to lower ranked leagues unlikely to often get a championship spot perhaps multiple rounds in groups put only play each other once like sectional league cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Scotland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and both Irelands. Maybe Denmark too. Would have to go to summer football but would be interesting. You'd need promotion and relegation though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 7 hours ago, Enigma said: Scotland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and both Irelands. Maybe Denmark too. Would have to go to summer football but would be interesting. You'd need promotion and relegation though. Bottom placed side from each nation plays the national champion of their nation for the right to remain in the lesser diddy league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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