Atlantic League (football)
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic League is a proposed international association football competition to be played in a number of European countries. The aim of the Atlantic League to allow clubs who have been successful in their national competitions to participate in a more competitive league that would be more attractive to fans and television
viewers, resulting in higher revenue
s and the ability to attract more talented players. An Atlantic League would aspire for itself and its clubs to achieve parity with the largest existing national leagues in England, Italy
, Germany
and Spain
.
, chief executive officer
and club president respectively at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Fearing that their club would be left behind in terms of financial revenue and ability to attract star players relative to those that play in the largest European national leagues, they contacted a number of other clubs, both in the Netherlands
and abroad, with large fanbases, with the proposition that they secede from their existing league competitions and form an international competition with one another. A plan was drawn up for a league featuring clubs from the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Scotland, plus a contingent from Scandinavian countries. Talks were held with AFC Ajax, Feyenoord, F.C. Porto, Rangers F.C.
and Celtic F.C.
; Celtic were particularly receptive of the idea. The league was slated to begin in 2002 at the earliest, following the conclusion of television rights contracts in the affected countries.
By 2001, Fossen had abandoned a parallel idea of setting up a completely Europe-wide league competition (the Euroleague) - he had forwarded this idea through the influential G-14
group of clubs, of which PSV was a member, but was forced to relent following opposition from clubs in the largest national leagues like England and Germany. He instead furthered his Atlantic League proposal, entering into discussions with UEFA
's marketing
director Lars-Christer Olsson
with a project that now included the other Dutch and Scottish clubs contacted in the initial stage, plus S.L. Benfica and Sporting C.P. from Portugal
's Liga Sagres
, R.S.C. Anderlecht
and Club Brugge K.V. from Belgium
's Jupiler League
, IFK Göteborg
and AIK
from Sweden
's Allsvenskan
, and Brøndby IF
and F.C. Copenhagen
from Denmark
's SAS Ligaen
. A system of promotion and relegation
would be maintained, with the least successful clubs relegated back to their national top leagues to be replaced by that league's champions. Qualification for the existing European club competitions (the UEFA Champions League
and UEFA Cup
) would be available through the league.
With a target population of over 40 million in Atlantic League represented countries, and with a proposed average attendance of over 30,000, which would be the third largest of all European leagues, van Raaij hoped to secure a television contract comparable to that of the larger leagues. The Scottish Premier League
(SPL) were actively involved in the negotiations, but other domestic leagues affected offered lucrative deals to clubs to remain in their national setup.
UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner
accepted the need for action in preventing the disparity between the largest clubs and the would-be Atlantic League participants, but during a two-day summit in Nyon
, Switzerland
in February 2001, ultimately rejected the proposal. He instead proposed a revamp of the UEFA Cup
competition to try and redress the balance. With meetings still on-going between the Atlantic League group that September, UEFA insisted that if they broke away from the governing body to set up the league, they would suffer from no longer being able to compete in Europe-wide competition such as the Champions League.
) were openly attempting to secede from the SPL and enter the English league system
instead. van Raaij and PSV approached the pair with a new Atlantic League proposal, now featuring between 18 and 20 teams and no longer including the Scandinavian countries. Up to five places would have been awarded to Scottish clubs under the new proposal; significantly, this would allow clubs in the SPL other than the Old Firm to contest the competition. This development came just as those clubs threatened to resign from the league in protest at the dominance of the Old Firm. The new Atlantic League would again maintain promotion and relegation with the national top leagues and facilitate qualification for Europe-wide competition.
each January, although those still competing in the Champions League or UEFA Cup would be exempt from the competition. Celtic's Ian McLeod
reassured UEFA that this competition would be complementary to, and not intended to replace, the existing national competitions, unlike the Atlantic League. UEFA replied that international competitions must take place under their jurisdiction, but were not opposed to the idea, only insisting that the national associations involved be in full agreement.
admitted he would like to see his club competing in the Atlantic League, with a reserve team
continuing to compete in the SPL - opining that the financial domination of the largest leagues has cheapened the appeal of the Champions League, as top clubs are able to field weakened teams and still able to qualify easily. The SPL remained open to the idea, but refused to enter into any negotiations until its existing television rights deal concludes in 2014. Scandinavian clubs were included again in media speculation over interested clubs, this time including Rosenborg BK from Norway
's Tippeligaen
. UEFA are likely to oppose the proposals once more, citing fear of the proliferation of non-national leagues.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
viewers, resulting in higher revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
s and the ability to attract more talented players. An Atlantic League would aspire for itself and its clubs to achieve parity with the largest existing national leagues in England, Italy
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, Germany
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
and Spain
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
.
2000-2001 proposals
The first Atlantic League proposal was made by Peter Fossen and Harry van RaaijHarry van Raaij
Harry van Raaij was the chairman of PSV Eindhoven, a Dutch sports club, between 1996 and 2004. Van Raaij was a proponent of the Atlantic League, which would have been a competition for larger clubs in smaller European countries....
, chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and club president respectively at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Fearing that their club would be left behind in terms of financial revenue and ability to attract star players relative to those that play in the largest European national leagues, they contacted a number of other clubs, both in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and abroad, with large fanbases, with the proposition that they secede from their existing league competitions and form an international competition with one another. A plan was drawn up for a league featuring clubs from the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Scotland, plus a contingent from Scandinavian countries. Talks were held with AFC Ajax, Feyenoord, F.C. Porto, Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and Celtic F.C.
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
; Celtic were particularly receptive of the idea. The league was slated to begin in 2002 at the earliest, following the conclusion of television rights contracts in the affected countries.
By 2001, Fossen had abandoned a parallel idea of setting up a completely Europe-wide league competition (the Euroleague) - he had forwarded this idea through the influential G-14
G-14
The G-14 was an organisation of European football clubs that existed between 2000 and 2008. It consisted of 14 teams initially, later expanded to 18...
group of clubs, of which PSV was a member, but was forced to relent following opposition from clubs in the largest national leagues like England and Germany. He instead furthered his Atlantic League proposal, entering into discussions with UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
's marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
director Lars-Christer Olsson
Lars-Christer Olsson
Lars-Christer Olsson from Sweden is a former UEFA Chief Executive from 2003. He resigned on February 1, 2007 and was succeeded by Gianni Infantino from Italy.-References:...
with a project that now included the other Dutch and Scottish clubs contacted in the initial stage, plus S.L. Benfica and Sporting C.P. from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's Liga Sagres
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
, R.S.C. Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
and Club Brugge K.V. from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's Jupiler League
Jupiler League
The Belgian Pro League is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division...
, IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
and AIK
AIK Fotboll
AIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...
from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...
, and Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
and F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's SAS Ligaen
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
. A system of promotion and relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
would be maintained, with the least successful clubs relegated back to their national top leagues to be replaced by that league's champions. Qualification for the existing European club competitions (the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
) would be available through the league.
With a target population of over 40 million in Atlantic League represented countries, and with a proposed average attendance of over 30,000, which would be the third largest of all European leagues, van Raaij hoped to secure a television contract comparable to that of the larger leagues. The Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
(SPL) were actively involved in the negotiations, but other domestic leagues affected offered lucrative deals to clubs to remain in their national setup.
UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner
Gerhard Aigner
Gerhard Aigner is a retired football executive. Aigner became in 1989 General Secretary of UEFA. The position of the General Secretary was renamed to Chief Executive in 1999. He retired from the post at the end of 2003.-References:...
accepted the need for action in preventing the disparity between the largest clubs and the would-be Atlantic League participants, but during a two-day summit in Nyon
Nyon
Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in February 2001, ultimately rejected the proposal. He instead proposed a revamp of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
competition to try and redress the balance. With meetings still on-going between the Atlantic League group that September, UEFA insisted that if they broke away from the governing body to set up the league, they would suffer from no longer being able to compete in Europe-wide competition such as the Champions League.
2002 proposals
By April 2002, Rangers and Celtic (collectively known as the Old FirmOld Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
) were openly attempting to secede from the SPL and enter the English league system
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
instead. van Raaij and PSV approached the pair with a new Atlantic League proposal, now featuring between 18 and 20 teams and no longer including the Scandinavian countries. Up to five places would have been awarded to Scottish clubs under the new proposal; significantly, this would allow clubs in the SPL other than the Old Firm to contest the competition. This development came just as those clubs threatened to resign from the league in protest at the dominance of the Old Firm. The new Atlantic League would again maintain promotion and relegation with the national top leagues and facilitate qualification for Europe-wide competition.
North Atlantic League Cup
In the autumn of 2003, representatives of the Dutch, Belgian, Danish and Scottish leagues proposed an alternative competition called the North Atlantic League Cup. It would feature the top four clubs from each of the four leagues in a round-robin group stage followed by a knockout tournamentSingle-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
each January, although those still competing in the Champions League or UEFA Cup would be exempt from the competition. Celtic's Ian McLeod
Ian McLeod
Ian McLeod may refer to:*Ian McLeod , South African football referee*Ian McLeod , South African road racing cyclist*Ian McLeod , Scottish professional boxer-See also:...
reassured UEFA that this competition would be complementary to, and not intended to replace, the existing national competitions, unlike the Atlantic League. UEFA replied that international competitions must take place under their jurisdiction, but were not opposed to the idea, only insisting that the national associations involved be in full agreement.
2008 resurrection
In December 2008, Rangers manager Walter SmithWalter Smith
Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...
admitted he would like to see his club competing in the Atlantic League, with a reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
continuing to compete in the SPL - opining that the financial domination of the largest leagues has cheapened the appeal of the Champions League, as top clubs are able to field weakened teams and still able to qualify easily. The SPL remained open to the idea, but refused to enter into any negotiations until its existing television rights deal concludes in 2014. Scandinavian clubs were included again in media speculation over interested clubs, this time including Rosenborg BK from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Tippeligaen
Norwegian Premier League
Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...
. UEFA are likely to oppose the proposals once more, citing fear of the proliferation of non-national leagues.