And now?
Spanish football is in turmoil. In March 2011 six clubs threatened strike action due to a dispute with the government over free-to-air television matches, in addition to the dissatisfaction with the widespread broadcasting deal dispute. The latest vice-president of the LFP resigned as a result.
Spanish football is in turmoil. In March 2011 six clubs threatened strike action due to a dispute with the government over free-to-air television matches, in addition to the dissatisfaction with the widespread broadcasting deal dispute. The latest vice-president of the LFP resigned as a result.
The current president, Jose Luis Astiazaran, is under pressure to quit and Javier Tebas, the former vice-president, described him as “lacking leadership”.
Though Tebas says he has enough on his plate, he is not ruling out the possibility of one day taking over from Astiazaran as the head of the LFP: “I have enough problems, this is not on my agenda. (But) It is an option. You cannot throw these options away.”
Tebas believes no other country in world football has as much political in-fighting as Spain and that he sees no end to this. He said: “There will always be conflict between the clubs and the governing body and these problems are unique to Spain.”
The problem lies mainly in that all the power lies with Barcelona and Real Madrid. The rest are nowhere. Not just the other clubs, but the governing bodies too.
Some improvements are on the way as Tebas confirmed: “Right now they (Barcelona and Real Madrid) are getting 49% of the overall money from television.” The other eighteen clubs share the remaining 51%. “But there’s an agreement in place with them (Barca and Real) to reduce that 49% share to 34%. The smaller clubs have signed this with Barcelona and Real Madrid.” Nevertheless, this new arrangement is still three years away from taking hold.
Moreover, Spanish football writer Sid Lowe is not convinced it is a done deal. He said: “It's a proposal at the moment, not yet tied as I understand it.“
The Premier League offer ‘parachute’ payments to relegated clubs as a way of softening the financial blow that comes from not being in the top division. Tebas’ latest work has been arranging a similar proposition in Spain, using the 15% of television money generated from the newly devised deal.
This, Tebas says, is vital for those clubs as without it they could go out of business. “This is important as the money will help prevent them from disappearing.”
But it is not enough. Currently in England the top clubs, like Manchester United and Chelsea, enjoy approximately an 11% share (between them) from the Premier League’s television deal with Sky, ESPN the BBC. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackpool, for example, enjoy the same percentage from that deal.
The Bundesliga operates in a similar way to the Premier League where the governing body deal with the television companies, rather than the clubs on an individual basis.
Tebas is hopeful that this will one day be the case in Spain.
However, if the status quo remains, and clubs such as Barca and Real can negotiate their own deal, then there could be big trouble for the other clubs in Spain, and we are not just talking about your Malagas and Real Sociedads. Valencia, Spain’s third most successful club since the turn of the millennium, are in dire straits due to the financial downturn and an inability to move to a new stadium.
Imagine Arsenal, England’s third most successful club, facing a similar fate and it gives Valencia’s plight some context.
Tebas would not commit to naming Valencia as a club he feared for but clearly they were at the forefront of his mind when asked about the next five years. “I’m not going to identify a particular club but there are certain clubs that could disappear.”
So, not necessarily Valencia, but a team of similar ilk could cease to exist? “Yes, yes, yes,” came the unequivocal response. “That level of team, there is the possibility it could disappear,” Tebas added.
These are harrowing words, not least because they come from someone in such an esteemed position, but also because there are so few who have such a vantage point with which to judge.
There are more clubs in administration in Spain than there are in England. Sid Lowe expanded upon this: “Over the last few years a huge number of clubs have ended up in administration. Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Real Vallecano.”
La Liga has to change, and it has to change soon, before it finds itself, and some of its member clubs, staring into the abyss.
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