Challenges in the 1970s and 80s
Fittingly, the shining beacon of English football was born out of some of the darkest days in the country's footballing history. In the 1970s and 80s, chronic financial mismanagement and an absence of commercial awareness defined the sport.
There was very limited live TV coverage, and thus clubs needed matchday income, including ticket sales, to survive. The football authorities believed that live broadcasts would decrease matchday
attendance and ultimately take away the most important revenue source for clubs. Meanwhile, the leagues were filled with old, dilapidated, and hazardous stadiums that became hotbeds of societal issues, such as extreme hooliganism.
Hooliganism and Its Impact
As revealed by the BBC in a 1977 Panorama special, hooliganism was closely linked to fringe racist political parties, like the National Front. The early approach to tackling hooliganism was one of heavy-handed policing of football fans. When Ken Bates, the then Chelsea Football Club owner, witnessed violence at Stamford Bridge, he applied to the local council to install an electric fence in front of one stand. Not surprisingly, the application was refused.
Tragedies and Turning Points
The dark ages of the English football reached their epitome in the late 1980s. In 1985, during the match between Bradford and Lincoln City, a fire erupted and within four minutes took over the entire main stand, killing 56 supporters and injuring 265.
That same year, the reputation of hooliganism in English football took a turn for the worse when riots during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus caused a stadium wall to collapse, which killed 39 Juventus supporters and injured 600 more. Incidents at Heysel Stadium resulted in the ban of all English clubs from European competition for five years, and Liverpool was barred for six years.
In 1989, 96 Liverpool fans died and 766 were injured in an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium because of negligent organization that allowed a crush to develop in standing-only pens in the Leppings Lane stand.
The Taylor Report and Reforms
Such seismic events forced the central government to intervene. The Taylor Report, published in 1990, is best remembered for recommending that stadiums become all-seater. It also banned alcohol consumption in view of the pitch and prompted football to modernize, targeting the affluent middle class and their aspirations. This laid the groundwork for the Premier League's classy image and global brand.
The Birth of the Premier League
Tensions Between the Football League and the FA
Commercialization was on the increase in football during the 1980s and 90s. Shirt sponsorships were only allowed from the early 80s. Political tensions festered between those sharing the game's regulatory power.
David Dein, then Arsenal's deputy chairman, was a great believer in the razzmatazz sports industry across the Atlantic and was frustrated at the lack of commercial imagination in English football's hierarchy. In 1988, Dein and representatives from Manchester United, Everton, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur met Greg Dyke, chief executive of London Weekend Television and chairman of ITV Sport, to discuss a breakaway competition.
How the Breakaway Was Prevented
The Football League found out about the coup and promptly sold their rights to ITV Sport at a cut-down price to prevent a breakaway. In response, the Football League issued the One Team, One Game, One Voice report in 1990, which urged more cooperation with the FA and a holistic approach to developing all English professional leagues.
Meanwhile, Dein and Liverpool's Noel White approached FA chairman Graham Kelly with another proposal for secession, which was favorably received. The FA's Blueprint for the Future of Football rejected the Football League's proposals, cemented the FA's power, and listed the potential benefits of a breakaway top division.
Justifications for the Premier League
The blueprint outlined how a new, isolated top division could:
* End power struggles in the game.
* Improve the sport's image.
* Enhance the prospects of success for the England team.
* Attract further government funding.
* Deliver enhanced commercial benefits.
On April 5, 1991, the FA announced its plans for a breakaway league, shifting power from the Football League to the FA. Meetings were held with top-division clubs to discuss the new competition's details. Surprisingly, the FA ceded control to the clubs.
The Founding of the Premier League
Sir Bert Millichip, then-chairman of the FA, said to the clubs, "It's your league; you decide." These words of encouragement led the clubs to take charge and, under the guidance of Rick Parry, they formed the Founders' Agreement.
Some of the main points in the agreement were:
1. Making the league more democratic with two-thirds majority voting
2. Redistribution of television money
3. Legal separation from the FA.
In 1992, the Premier League—named to sound less threatening than the originally proposed “Super League”—was established for its debut season.
Post a Comment