G-14

The 'G-14' is an organization of European football clubs. It was founded in September 2000 by 14 leading clubs to provide a unified voice in negotiations with UEFA and FIFA. New members may join by invitation only. In August 2002, four more clubs joined, taking the membership to 18, although the organisation has retained its original name.
Essentially a pressure group, they have often been linked to various initiatives to create what the media have called a European Super League, although this is often denied. These reports were particularly common during 2003 when UEFA took the decision to drop the second group phase from the Champions League without the consultation of the participating clubs. G-14 took this as justification that they are needed within European Football to create what they call a ‘voice for the clubs’. The president of the group is chairman Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas, who replaced David Dein who stepped down after 6 months of a two year presidency after leaving Arsenal.
The G-14 clubs are spread across seven different countries, and have won around 250 national league titles between them. Three come from each of the top divisions of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain; two from the Netherlands; and one from Portugal. G-14 members have won the European Cup/Champions League 41 times out of 51 seasons.
The 2004 Champions League final was the first in that competition since 1992 in which one of the finalists was not a current G-14 member; the 2004 final featured member Porto and non-member AS Monaco. There have been only three Champions League or European Cup finals where both teams were non-members of the present G-14.
In the other existing major UEFA club competition, the UEFA Cup, fourteen finals have featured two non-members, compared to only three that have featured two G-14 clubs. 2005 was the first final since 1989 to be contested between two non-members - CSKA Moscow and Sporting Lisbon. In 2006, the UEFA Cup was contested again between two non-members Sevilla and Middlesbrough, as well as in 2007 when Sevilla played Espanyol.

Contents

Court case against FIFA

Proposed expansion

Members

References

External links

Court case against FIFA

As the leading Clubs in European Football, their power on the world stage was best demonstrated during the 2006 FIFA World Cup where they provided 22% of participating players. This has supported their assertion that national associations should pay players wages whilst on international duty and provide compensation in the case of injuries.
In April 2004, G-14 initiated a preliminary investigation into FIFA by the Swiss Competition Commission, when they complained of FIFA's requiring their players to be available for FIFA international competitions without compensating the clubs. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has refused to negotiate with the G-14 on the matter.
On September 5 2005 the G-14 clubs decided to take FIFA to court over paying players for internationals after the Belgian club Charleroi lost Abdelmajid Oulmers in November for eight months when he was injured playing for Morocco.
If the G-14 are successful in their court case against FIFA, it could effectively mean the end of international football between national teams; this is because so few countries' football associations would be able to afford to pay for big name multi-million earning stars to play on their team (especially poorer countries like Brazil, whose current international footballers are among the highest paid club players in the world, and developing countries in Africa like the Ivory Coast and Ghana). This would mean national teams comprised of "affordable" low to mid level players.
Already foreseeing such a situation, there has been talk of creating a "World Cup" for club teams instead and many feel certain this is the next step after the conclusion of the court case (if the decision is in the G-14's favour). The case is still pending.
Prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup the G-14 Members demanded a 'fair percentage' of receipts from tournaments, such as the World Cup to compensate for the clubs releasing players to compete in these tournaments.^[1]
On 28 May 2007, at an extraordinary congress in Zurich, UEFA President Michel Platini called upon G-14 to disband, declaring that they were "elitist" and that club grievances could be aired through a new UEFA body, the Professional Football Strategy Council.^[2]

Proposed expansion

Jean-Michel Aulas was elected president of the G-14 on May 16, 2007, after securing unanimous agreement from member clubs to the principle of expanding the G-14's membership. Aulas announced his intention to consider inviting a further 16 teams to join, stating that he wanted the G14 "to expand geographically and be strengthened by other clubs." Clubs from the strongest leagues in England, Spain, Italy and Germany are likely to be admitted,^[3] but the expansion criteria will also consider geographical advantage, with clubs from Scotland, Russia, Turkey, Greece and Scandinavia pushing for inclusion.^[4]

Members

;Founding members, 2000

★ Juventus (Italy) ''Manager in 2000:'' Carlo Ancelotti ''Manager now:'' Claudio Ranieri

★ A.C. Milan (Italy) ''Manager in 2000:'' Alberto Zaccheroni ''Manager now:'' Carlo Ancelotti

★ Internazionale (Italy) ''Manager in 2000:'' Marcello Lippi ''Manager now:'' Roberto Mancini

★ Liverpool F.C. (England) ''Manager in 2000:'' Gérard Houllier ''Manager now:'' Rafael Benítez

★ Manchester United (England) ''Manager in 2000 & now:'' Sir Alex Ferguson

★ Olympique de Marseille (France) ''Manager in 2000:'' Albert Emon & Christophe Galtier ''N.B. Emon & Galtier were job sharing.'' ''Manager now:'' Albert Emon

★ Paris Saint-Germain (France) ''Manager in 2000:'' Philippe Bergeroo ''Manager now:'' Paul Le Guen

★ Bayern Munich (Germany) ''Manager in 2000 & now:'' Ottmar Hitzfeld

★ Borussia Dortmund (Germany) ''Manager in 2000:'' Udo Lattek ''Manager now'': Thomas Doll

★ Ajax (Netherlands) ''Manager in 2000:'' Jan Wouters ''Manager now:'' Henk ten Cate

★ PSV (Netherlands) ''Manager in 2000:'' Eric Gerets ''Manager now:'' Ronald Koeman

★ Porto (Portugal) ''Manager in 2000:'' Octávio Machado ''Manager now:'' Jesualdo Ferreira

★ Barcelona (Spain) ''Manager in 2000:'' Louis van Gaal ''Manager now:'' Frank Rijkaard

★ Real Madrid (Spain) ''Manager in 2000:'' Vicente del Bosque ''Manager now:'' Bernd Schuster
;New members, 2002

★ Arsenal (England) ''Manager in 2002 & now:'' Arséne Wenger

★ Olympique Lyonnais (France) ''Manager in 2002:'' Jacques Santini ''Manager now:'' Alain Perrin

★ Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) ''Manager in 2002:'' Klaus Toppmöller ''Manager now:'' Michael Skibbe

★ Valencia (Spain) ''Manager in 2002:'' Rafael Benítez ''Manager now:'' Quique Sanchez Flores

References

1. G14 clubs demand share of World Cup gate receipts John Nisbet
2. Platini calls for disbandment of 'Elitist' G14
3. New G-14 boss may swell lobby group to 32 Ronnie Esplin
4. G14 looks set to expand

External links

★ Official Website

★ Unofficial G-14 Member News