Why the future of football is at stake

Part of the appeal of football is that the question of winner and loser can be easily answered. All you have to do is look at the scoreboard at the final whistle. The team that scored more goals won. However, the Premier League is currently being moved by a duel in which it is not clear who the winner is.

Manchester City and the league have both declared themselves winners after an arbitration tribunal found both parties partly right and partly wrong in a dispute over the rules governing sponsorship contracts. Breaking down the details would go too far at this point, but the consequences of the arbitration award could be significant.

ManCity vs. Premier League: Dispute should be decided in 2025

Manchester City and the Premier League are currently facing off in another, much bigger case. The league accuses the permanent champion of comprehensively violating financial rules. Manchester City denies this – and will apparently fundamentally revise the Premier League regulations to benefit the clubs and their owners. There should be a decision in the fall at the beginning of 2025.

According to the English media, after the current arbitration ruling, Manchester City wrote to the other 19 Premier League clubs and stirred up sentiment against the league. The club is also attacking the democratic principles of the Premier League. The fact that important decisions have to be made with a two-thirds majority of the clubs represents a “tyranny of the majority” for Manchester City.

The duel between the permanent champions and the league is the duel over the fundamental question of who actually sets the rules of the competition, the leagues and associations or the clubs and their owners. The latest arbitration award does not yet provide an answer to this. But the reactions of Manchester City and the Premier League show that they will continue to fight the battle for the foundations – and thus the future – of football with full force.

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