Football needs to unite and create a more level playing field in Europe

What unites us in Europe? In the current crisis, when the world is changing from a rule-based to a power-based order, Europe is moving closer together and remembering its most important principle: rules and laws apply. This has been agreed in Porto and Helsinki, Bruges and Athens, Warsaw, Prague and Ljubljana.

Football is a mosaic of social life. It contributes to negotiating and communicating values. Whether it finds acceptance and whether western society identifies with it depends on whether its competitions are fair and subject to good rules, ie whether many are allowed to participate with a chance of success.

This works surprisingly well in the national teams, measured by the fact that the size of the countries is a decisive factor for them and no one in Europe wants to change anything about the sovereignty of their borders. There have been 10 different winners in 16 European Championship tournaments.

The problem lies in club football. A lot of money flows into it, from which some leagues and teams profit disproportionately. This creates national monopolies and in the Champions League whole regions of Europe are left behind. It is now up to the competition authorities.

“People go to football because they don’t know the result,” Sepp Herberger, the West Germany World Cup-winning coach of 1954, said. This is no longer true in Germany and the situation is similar in France. The two metropolises of Munich and Paris have developed into monopolies.

Because Bayern are aiming for their 10th championship in a row, people in Germany are discussing play-offs. The title would then depend on a few games at the end of the season. This is how the Bundesliga is supposed to become exciting again. But play-offs cannot be the solution.