Fight over World Cup financial rewards
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4535591.stm
又一樁G14跟FIFA的角力戰，這次是對世界盃。兩方各有各的論點與理由。
Fight over World Cup financial rewards
By Bill Wilson
BBC News business reporter
A low profile legal tussle rumbling through a Swiss arbitration body could
have a profound impact on the future wealth of leading European football
clubs.
The continent's top clubs are hoping Switzerland's Competition Commission
will rule - before the 2006 World Cup in Germany - that they should get
greater compensation for releasing players to the tournament.
"This complaint concerns points of dispute between clubs and national teams,
particularly concerning clubs making players available to national teams for
free for competitions organised by Fifa," the competition commission said.
The G-14 grouping of clubs which has brought the action includes 2005
Champions League finalists Liverpool and AC Milan, the 2004 winner Porto, as
well as Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
'Huge impact'
Clubs pay superstars high wages and want a share of the huge revenues
generated by tournaments such as the World Cup, run by Zurich-based Fifa, and
the European Championship, run by Uefa.
"We are still awaiting a decision from the commission in Switzerland, but
when they come to their decision I think it will have a huge impact on how
international football is run, " G-14 chief Thomas Kurth told the BBC News
website.
The G-14 Clubs
Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool,
Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, Real Madrid,
Valencia, Paris Saint Germain, Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Ajax,
PSV Eindhoven, Porto
"They are preparing themselves very well to justify the decision they reach.
We are eagerly awaiting that neutral decision over whether we are right or
wrong.
"It is not about the clubs wanting the countries to pay the players'
salaries. It is about the fact players appear in major international
tournaments, and there are huge revenues coming in, yet the clubs see nothing
of this."
G-14 would like the clubs to have a proportional share of the income.
"If the national team game produces huge revenues thanks to club players
there should be a pay-back of some kind," he said.
Insurance costs
Players who are internationalists play 80% of their matches for their clubs,
and 20% for their national teams, according to G-14 estimates.
"Yet Fifa and Uefa give the clubs, who are risking the players, 0% of the
money they make," Mr Kurth observed.
"Clubs have to pay insurance for the players when they are away on
international duty. And if the players come back injured, tired, or out of
form, it is another problem for the clubs."
Fifa figures show the last World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002
generated a profit of ?140m ($258.6m). This is expected to rise above ?200m
in Germany.
G-14 also estimates that the central marketing of both the World and European
tournaments generates more than 3bn Swiss francs ($2.4bn; ?1.3bn) of business.
Fifa and Uefa have pointed out that appearing in their competitions raises
the profile of players, and makes them more valuable assets for their clubs.
We need the big clubs but they should also have a bit of respect for the
authorities of football Fifa president Sepp Blatter
But Mr Kurth accepts that: "players may take on 'added value' from appearing
in the World Cup", but adds that this just means that it is "other clubs who
have to pay each other more money in transfer fees for acquiring that added
value".
"Trading in players is not the objective of the clubs. They sometimes need to
sell players to balance the books, but it is not the reason for their
existence."
Future of the game
However it does not look like Fifa or Uefa are willing to meet G-14's
demands, whatever the Swiss body rules.
Uefa has refused to acknowledge the existence of G-14 and has warned clubs
have to be controlled more closely.
"We have to look after the future of the game as a whole and not just certain
clubs," Uefa stated.
And Fifa's Sepp Blatter has said "as long as this group is not official they
will never be recognised".
Fifa says it has to defend the interests of the 204 national associations,
not the interests of the top European clubs.
"We need the big clubs but they should also have a bit of respect for the
authorities of football," he added.
Mr Blatter also said the G-14 demands are being addressed to the wrong body.
"Fifa does not sit on the money generated by the World Cup and other
tournaments," he said. "It pays a grand total of $264m to the 204 national
associations and six confederations.
'Dialogue needed'
Mr Blatter also pointed out that, under Swiss law, Fifa is a "non-profit"
association unlike "billionaire clubs" that "have to maximise their own
income".
Pirlo (l) of AC Milan and Italy with Veron of Inter and Argentina
Top Italian stars feature among the G-14 collection of club players
He said claims such as the G-14's should be addressed, not to Fifa but to the
national football associations which receive the vast majority of the funds
generated, and select players for international duty.
Mr Kurth says changes to the game should "be as a result of dialogue".
"It can't be done unilaterally, like Uefa did when they got rid of the second
round group phase in the Champions League," he adds.
"But we have been forced to undertake our claim in Switzerland and now wait
to see what happens."
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 80.229.140.103
FAPL 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
120
231
