Stadium Issue

Rules, Rules and More Rules -

but is it only in Scotland this way?

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

ENTRY TICKET

ADMIT ONE CLUB

Club may only be admitted on the basis that the stadium has a minimum of 10,000 seats, pitch protection, under-21 team, etc, etc, and anything else that maybe viewed as an advantage to bigger clubs.

Introduction, Situation In Europe, To Share or Not To Share, So Basically

INTRODUCTION

The deadline for whether a stadium is deemed suitable for the Scottish Premier League is March 31st and, barring a miracle, Falkirk will not be able to present such a stadium. "Suitable" in SPL terms means a minimum of 10,000 seats and sufficient weather resistance. Other rules also include having an under-21 team and a clear youth policy. Many clubs in Scotland feel that the likes of Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle have no right to complain - that clubs such as St Mirren, Raith Rovers, Livingston and Airdrie agreed with such rules. However, those clubs did not agree, they had to accept; if Almondvale was 5,000 seats short of the mark, then they would be prohibited from joining the "elite ranks" of Scottish football. Everyone also saw how, despite having impressive new stadia, that St Mirren, Raith Rovers and Airdrie crumbled under a massive debt, with Airdrie eventually going out of business. Raith and Airdrie also found that, even with a beautiful new stadium for the SPL, they still needed to win a championship in order to play in the SPL.

Today, Dave Stewart, the MP for Inverness, is pursuing the SPL through the Office of Fair Trading, insisting that the SPL is operating in the same way as a protection racket and in doing so, denying smaller stadia clubs the right to be promoted. While the Taylor Report following the Hillsborough disaster insisted that all-seater stadia was the way forward, there has been no specific number of seats quoted. So clubs such as East Fife, Dumbarton, Hamilton Accies and Clyde are not in breach of the Taylor Report - if they won promotion they would, in principle, breach no rules except for those set by the SPL.

The way that the Premier League operates is perhaps on a par with the rest of Europe. Most countries refer to their top division as a Super League, Premier League or whatever glorified title that can be given. TV rights hold great importance and naturally, those in charge want to show the rest of Europe, indeed the world, what an exciting and modern league it is (well, if you remove two particular teams, but that is another story). So here is a run down of how the situation is in Europe.

The Situation in Europe

The F.A followed the Taylor Report to the letter and so that means all-seater stadia in the top division. There isn't a particular minimum applied and despite the requirement, Fulham were able to play in the Premiership at Craven Cottage, their home since the 19th century, on the condition that they either had a stadium ready or groundshare plans in place. This season, Fulham have shared with Queen's Park Rangers while plans for a brand new stadium were being developed - as yet, nothing has come of this, though it does not mean that the Cottagers will have to say goodbye to Premier life. Reserve football is still very popular, with no age restrictions in place.

As for the rules, one clear rule is visible from outside Belgium. That is, and it is quite common in Europe, that the club can prove that they are financially sound. Every year, a review by the KBVB/URBSFA establishes whether a club is in a financially acceptable state to play in the top division and should a club not be able to fulfill its financial obligations, then the license to play professional football is withdrawn and the club relegated, with effect from the next season, to the 3rd Division - and in doing so, becoming an amateur club. KV Mechelen, the winners of the 1987 Cup Winners Cup, face this prospect.

There are also rules applied to the capacity of a stadium, although these will be implemented in 2005. This insists that clubs must have a minimum capacity for 8,000 supporters, although this still alllows for seated and standing areas (minimum of 5,000 seats). As yet, no definition of what punishment can be expected if a club fails to provide for a capacity of 8,000 has been defined. There are also no rules regarding groundsharing - Club and Cercle Brugge (1st and 2nd Division) share the Jan Breydel Stadium.

Again, clubs are subject to a license being awarded on the grounds that clubs are economically viable. If a club fails to obtain a license, then they will not be allowed to play professional football and must return to amateur status. Every season, about 4 clubs risk losing their license but are usually able to obtain one on appeal.

While Holland has a lot of all-seater stadia, there is not a single rule which states that they must have that. AZ, UEFA cup finalists in 1981, still play in a stadium made up of seating and terracing. Some clubs have made the change to remove terracing, but have been wise in the way of doing this. Examples are RBC Roosendaal, with 5,500 seats and Excelsior Rotterdam, who have a maximum capacity of 3,500. Groundsharing doesn't take place except when required or better said, when the Mayor enforces it (Excelsior and Sparta Rotterdam have in the past made use of the Feyenoord Stadium on the direct orders of the Mayor). Reserve football is commonplace and there are no rules regarding age. In fact, the reserves are allowed to enter the Dutch Cup, which led to Ajax Reserves reaching the semi-final.

Several clubs have fallen victim to the rule regarding finance. While the punishment is not as severe as Belgium, clubs will continue to be relegated until they have their house in order. So St Etienne, the great French side of the seventies and eighties, found themselves in the nineties dropping through to the Semi-Professional leagues, before turning things around.

France did experience a similar disaster to Hillsborough in 1992 when, just before the French Cup match between Bastia and Marseille, the temporary seating collapsed with 13 deaths. The French Football Federation adopted a set of categories in which stadiums would play. This means that if a club has 20,000 seats, it is a category one stadium (like the Parc Des Princes). Category two refers to 8,000, with a minimum of 5,000 seats, such as Belgium. This does not mean that only category one can play in Ligue 1, as Nice (category 2) can prove with their impressive Stade Municipal De Ray with the terracing at both ends. Most big towns have only one professional side and so groundsharing is non-existent, although Red Star 93 from the 4th Division (and from where we hired Camille Oponga last season) have the honour of tearing up the pitch of the Stade De France, the 80,000 capacity stadium where the 1998 World Cup Final was held, every second weekend.

Eintracht Frankfurt was one of the great teams to fall victim to financial problems and swapped the 1.Bundesliga for the Regionallaliga. They also joined East German giants Dynamo Berlin, although their success was somewhat ill-gotten and not possible to sustain after the disappearance of the Stasi, the DDR's secret police.

On a trip to Dortmund, I experienced a magnificent game in an equally magnificent stadium - The Westfahlen Stadium. This huge football home was built for the 1974 World Cup and has, on Bundesliga and Cup days, one of the most impressive terraces called the Südtribune. This accomodates 25,000 of the most fanatic Borussia supporters and they all stand. Only when European and National Team matches take place here, do they stick seats in and for 2006, the stadium will become all-seater. Not only in Dortmund do they have a terracing for the supporters (mostly the home and die-hard crowd) but in other towns where 1.Bundesliga football is played. Groundsharing is not frowned upon - ask 1860 Munich and Bayern Munich who have played in the Olympic Stadium since 1972.

Massive overspending by just about any club in Italy, so often approved and ignored in the 80's and 90's, is now being cracked down upon. Fiorentina hit the headlines when they closed down following untold financial irregularities. While you can still play with an account in the red, you must show some honesty and in the case of the Florence side, that was lacking big time. So your integrity, or lack of, may decide whether your side plays with the big boys or not.

Italy has also no reserve or under-21 football, although players that do not get a game are often farmed out to smaller, "friendly" clubs. As for the Italian theatres of dreams, they vary in all shapes and sizes, completely seated or partially seated. One minor point is that most of the stadia in Italy had been regarded as dangerous to public safety. Depends on which team you support! As for groundsharing, both Milan teams and both Turin teams have had no complaints. Need I say more?

One particular rule blocks teams from promotion. This has happened to the reserve teams of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid, to name a few. You simply cannot have the prospect of Barcelona against Barcelona 2 in the League, although there is the presence of friendly teams such as Extremadura, which was originally a supporters club for Barca.

Most Primera sides have all seater stadium, although there is not really a rule stating that it is neccessary. Capacity is also not an issue, as most Primera and Segunda teams need to have 10,000 plus, just to cope with the demand.

TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE.......

Many times before, Falkirk F.C did investigate the possibility of groundsharing or leasing a stadium until the club could move into their new stadium. The SPL, as I have mentioned before, has also rules on groundshares and leasing, so that would make it very difficult for any club to be able to do so. Funnily enough, there was no objection to both Dundee sides sharing a potential stadium, should Scotland be awarded Euro 2008. That of course fell through.

While groundsharing is frowned upon by the SPL, I have compiled a list of all countries in Europe, where this is permitted. This will focus only on the teams playing in the top flight of that country.

1. American Football team and Ajax rent this stadium, but still share the same playing field.
2. Any derby / high-risk matches in Stockholm must take place at Rasunda, although Djurgardens and Hammarby have each their own stadium.

Some of these teams have a hatred of each other - quite like getting Rangers and Celtic to ground share. Furthermore, many stadiums are owned by the local authorities and have been known to be double-booked by an amateur side. Quite simply, there is no reason to deny groundsharing on a temporary or permanent basis.

SO BASICALLY.......

A minimum capacity is required in a lot of countries, but the focus is really on having a safe and comfortable stadium in which football can be enjoyed by those who watch it and by those who play it. A lot of clubs have ventured down the road of a brand new stadium that is impossible to fill - those same clubs are in financial difficulty.

In Turkey, Greece and Italy, countries with a notoreity for how extreme supporters can be, many clubs share the same stadium. Two of the biggest rivals in world football, Inter and AC Milan, have shared the San Siro for many years and the Rome clubs, Lazio and AS Roma, have called the Olympic Stadium in Rome their home, despite hating each other with a passion. If they can groundshare, even the Old Firm could do the same.

All over Europe, many clubs are moving to more modern accomodations. However, the idea that 25,000 or more will come to see their team play doesn't always materialize into reality. This therefore ensures that, through construction of uuneccessarily large stadiums, a lot of clubs risk losing their license to play. The top leagues elsewhere in Europe want teams to be promoted, but not at any cost - otherwise the big-spenders become debtors and in turn, become amateurs. The clubs lose out on professional football and, more importantly, so do the fans

From season 2004/2005 all countries will have adopted the the UEFA Licensing System. This reads as follows:

Denmark's FA, the Dansk Boldspil Union, has already implemented most of this charter, including the Infrastructure section. The DBU policy is in accordance with UEFA policy, meaning that they have a minimum stadium capacity rule of 3,000 seated,covered and numbered places (the total capacity must be a 10,000 minimum, so this allows for 7,000 standing places). The Swiss FA will also be implementing this rule also, as the current Swiss rules state that the stadium must have 4 sections each with space for 2,000 spectators; this doesn't state if this refers to seating or standing accomodation.

A lot of information was pulled from rulebooks of the governing Football Associations, with a bit of assistance from Stuart Adam. Furthermore, the honourable gentleman for Falkirk West, Mr Eric Joyce, has also expressed his annoyance at the current state of affairs. Together with Dave Stewart, he is also using politics to assist ourselves and other clubs in the similar boat (lets not forget Caley Thistle and Clyde here). Send your words of encouragement (not forgetting Dave Stewart either) to this address. Other politicians also have plenty of things to say, and you can view their comments here.

Should you have any comments and if you would like to add to this, please drop me a mail.

Country	Stadium	Teams
Albania	Selman Stermasi, Tirana	SK Tirana, Partizan Tirana, Dinamo Partizan
Austria	Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadion, Graz	Sturm Graz, Graz AK
Belgium	Jan Breydel Stadion, Brugge	Club Brugge, Cercle Brugge
Cyprus	Neo GSP, Nicosia	Apoel, Omonia, Olympiakos
Cyprus	Tsirion, Limassol	Apollon, Aris, AEL
Finland	Finnair Stadium, Helsinki	Jokerit, HJK
Germany	Olympiastadion, Munich	1860 Munchen, Bayern Munchen
Greece	Rizoupolis, Athens	Apollon, Olympiakos Pireas
Italy	Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, Milan	Internazionale, AC Milan
Italy	Stadio Della Alpi, Turin	Juventus F.C, Torino
Italy	Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa	Sampdoria, Genoa 1893
Italy	Stadio Marc'Antonia Bentegodi, Verona	Chievo, Hellas Verona
Italy	Stadio Olimpica, Rome	SS Lazio, AS Roma
Netherlands	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam	AFC Ajax, Amsterdam Admirals 1
Norway	Ullevi Stadion, Oslo	SK Lyn, Valerengas IF
Russia	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow	Torpedo, Spartak
Sweden	Gamla Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg	IFK, GaiS, Orgryte
Sweden	Rasunda Stadion, Stockholm	AIK, Djurgardens IF, Hammarby 2
Switzerland	Neufeld, Bern	FC Bern, Young Boys Bern
Turkey	Ankara 19 Mayis Stadyon, Ankara	Genclerbirgli, Ankaragucu
Turkey	Altay Alsancak Stadyon, Izmir	Altay Izmir, Goztepe, IzmirSpor
Turkey	Kayseri Ataturk Stadyon, Kayseri	Kayserispor, Hacilar Erciyesspor


Lille are fighting relegation but their stadium, Le Stade Jooris Grimponprez, isn't the reason. At the top end of the table, Nice look good for Le Championnat- even with the terracing!