The last couple of years have seen a considerable reduction in the control massively rich football clubs have on the way football is run in Europe and in the rest of the world. The good news is that this has meant that many of football values have either come back or been reinforced and this largely thanks to FIFA and UEFA taking a stand. The bad news is there is still much left to be desired. Let's go through the 2 big changes that have occurred since.



The year 2003 marks the first year in which big clubs slowly began losing control over how club football is run. Why? Because UEFA decided to get rid of the second group stage of the Champion League, which was simply a money spinner for already cashed up clubs. In addition, it led to greater player fatigue and burnouts, the effects of which were seen at major tournaments such as the 2002 World Cup.

The other loser was the football fan. 2 group stages simply meant that we had to go through watching each team play 12 games over a couple of months where there would never be a do-or-die situation. It was ultimately boring and a great shame because the greatness and prestige of the European Cup (as it was called before) had been built upon magnificent, nerve-wrecking knockout games. Going through 2 group stages before reaching the knockout meant that the spirit of the European Cup was slowly dying away in the face of money hungry clubs.

Following the removal of the second stage, the other big change that has reduced clubs' influence in the way football is run was the disappearance of the G14 group of clubs. G14 was a group of the richest clubs in the world, and it served solely to promote their interests against political heavyweights, most notably UEFA and FIFA.

What was best for the game was never the concern of the G14 group of clubs. For example, for some time, there was talk of forming a European league solely for the richest clubs in the world. Fortunately, it didn't happen mainly due to the stand FIFA and UEFA took. During the existence of the G14 group, the gulf between rich and poor clubs grew immensely, which means that the end of G14 in January of this year could finally mean that this problem can be rectified.

The removal of the 2nd group stage was just one step in the right direction for football's battle against club's interests. Political heavyweights especially FIFA and UEFA are going in the right direction by taking control from the clubs. The new proposed '6+5 rule' seems to be another positive step forward for football in general if it gets implemented everywhere. In fact, my next article will cover the advantages and disadvantages of such a rule if it comes into force.

That said, this doesn't mean that we've solved the problem for there is much that can still be done. For one, the fact remains that most wealth divide seems to be getting bigger and this is putting small poor clubs under severe financial pressure, potentially making some prestigious clubs go under. The solution to such a problem is not easy at all, nevertheless I hope to propose some solutions in my next few articles.

Club loyalty is one aspect of football that seems to be extinct. These days, money talks louder than ever before, probably because there's more of it going around. The new generation of players are also more arrogant than before and as a result club loyalty has taken a beating. If this continues, who knows where football will end up in future years?