Borussia Dortmund fans welcome the new Champions League: UEFA Mafia | Relief
A huge banner in the background of Signal Iduna Park indicates the organization organizing this match: UEFA MAFIA. The Yellow Wall, one of the most famous stands in Europe, begins the competition in which its team finished second last year with a big statement.. They don’t like change, they don’t like the new format of the UEFA Champions League.
Above the main sentence is a link to the site, so that a football fan who is a little confused about what we are talking about can figure it out. A list of 20 hobbyists from Germany and other Central and Northern European countries signed a statement. Among them, in addition to Borussia, there are other important clubs such as Bayern Munich or Leverkusen.
The main problem with the alleged commercialization of the new format of competition, elitism, is that football, in their opinion, is becoming the preserve of the few.
“To travel around Europe with your club and compete with the best: if for some, participation in international competitions is a constant in the history of the club, then for others a one-time participation is an absolute dream. However, UEFA and the European Club Association (AEK) are increasingly devaluing the magic of European competition.. With the inevitable reform of the UEFA club competitions next season, this magic is in danger of being completely lost,” explains the first paragraph of the message from the fans who kicked off this Champions League with a huge banner.
There is also significant criticism of the excessive calendar that currently governs European football. “The increasing number of matches in the competition will push players and fans to their limits. The significant increase in revenue that would result from the reforms could also disrupt domestic competitions and pave the way for the inevitable European Super League,” they point out.
Among the problems of these fan groups is also the financing of smaller leagues. They point out that the Champions League is eating the whole pie and that some leagues, even some of the big ones, are starting to see problems funding themselves.
“The resources of television networks and sponsors are limited and if more and more of the available money is allocated to UEFA competitions, domestic competitions will inevitably be cancelled.. “This situation has been confirmed in the context of the provision of television rights in Italy and France, and this trend can be expected in other countries,” the report explains.
The story ends with a slogan, almost a shout, since it is written in capital letters: “FOOTBALL FOR MILLIONS OF FANS, NOT FOR BILLIONS OF EUROS!”