Celtic and others have been informed that they can join regional leagues so long as they work alongside European competitions.
That’s the verdict of UEFA when it comes to the potential Atlantic League proposal involving five Scottish clubs. It was an idea pushed heavily by Aberdeen chairman David Cormack. He revealed that Celtic weren’t interested in the proposal and instead favoured a British League, but urged us to change our mind (Daily Mail).
The proposed Atlantic League was to involve clubs from Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Sweden, and Ireland respectively. It was an idea put forward by Irish sports investor Andrew Doyle.
And UEFA have admitted that they won’t stand in the way of fresh regional leagues from being formed. However, only on the condition that they can formulate a plan to work in alignment with Euro competitions.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “At UEFA, we are thinking about regional leagues and we have been talking to the leaders of national federations about that. More and more countries are interested in the possibility of a regional league because that would increase the value of clubs, as well as income from sponsors and the sale of TV rights.
“UEFA, in principle, has nothing against regional leagues. The main problem is how to go from those leagues to European competitions. UEFA would have to solve that problem.
“In addition, we do not want to create some regional leagues that would destroy national championships. So, regional leagues are a serious undertaking and nothing concrete has been decided yet, but it is being considered.”
Cormack won’t be getting excited; Atlantic League still looks doubtful
It’s easy to see why someone like Dave Cormack would be all for this. It promises more exciting fixtures and provides certain Scottish clubs with bigger financial incentives. It also allows Scottish clubs to qualify for the competition too so that nobody is particularly left out.
In short – it solves a financial hole for clubs like Aberdeen. But it’s still no surprise to hear that Celtic want something bigger. Something a touch sexier if you will if they’re going to be competing in regional leagues. There’s clearly something about this that troubles them. It isn’t the finances involved either.
The prospect of coming up against Manchester United and Chelsea certainly whets the appetite. And to a much greater degree than taking on Copenhagen or Helsingborgs. Celtic will be looking for maximum revenue opportunities for themselves. Being locked in a league with Aberdeen and Motherwell to name a couple may not satisfy them.
But this is a big step forward for Celtic. UEFA’s resistance to regional leagues has been a problem in the past. Hearing that they’re open to the prospect of them now is a step forward.
That doesn’t tie us to the Atlantic League proposed by Doyle and Cormack either. It gives us a wealth of opportunities to join other potential projects instead. It’s not as if the Norwegian football association sounded too keen on the Atlantic League proposal in any case (Glasgow Live). Cormack and co have plenty of hoops to jump through if they want this to go through.
Any proposal still has a long way to go for approval. But having UEFA’s blessing to discuss new ideas and press ahead with them is big for Celtic.
In other news, a shock loan recall has left Celtic’s upcoming opponents in a dire situation.
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