Can a new North Atlantic league save clubs like Ajax and Celtic from irrelevance?

The stranglehold of Europe’s major domestic leagues on the continent’s most prominent club competition, the Champions League, is showing no signs of loosening. Indeed, in August the news broke that moves are being made to give four automatic qualification slots to Europe’s top four leagues — Spain, Germany, England, and Italy — as of 2018. This has unsurprisingly prompted clubs from Europe’s smaller nations into collective action, as they bid to find a route back to continental competitiveness.

Against the enormous commercial wealth of Europe’s biggest leagues, that is much easier said than done, but there rightly remains a feeling that more action could be taken. One of the most radical proposals currently under discussion is the inauguration of an North Atlantic league — either in lieu of, or operating alongside, the smattering of domestic pyramids in northern Europe.

The proposal sounds wacky, but it’s more than just wild speculation. Talks have been publicly confirmed by the director of Danish giants FC Copenhagen, Anders Horsholt, who told newspaper BT: “If we do not act now, we will see the biggest clubs grow larger and stronger while it will be increasingly difficult for clubs like us. We must therefore look at which alternative international opportunities for FC Copenhagen in the future. Here it is still too early to talk about specific models, but the discussion of leagues across European borders is a theme that we look at and actively participate in.” A few days later, the chief executive of the Scottish FA, Stewart Regan, threw weight behind a similar idea, telling the Guardian: “There is a recognition that we have to change.”

There is no doubt that discussions appear to be at a very early stage, and it would certainly prove challenging for these clubs to get any idea off the ground in the near future. Aside from plain old traditionalism is the hegemony that the existing powers will seek to maintain over the structure of continental competition: UEFA and their sponsors are sure to be twitchy about any moves to escape from under their jurisdiction. But it may well eventually prove to be in the best interests of all to look to restructure in some means, with elite football resembling ever more an unbreakable oligarchy. That’s serving the purposes of neither continental competition — the Champions League group stages are, if we’re honest, long and boring — nor football outside of the major leagues.

The question is, of course, what form such a North Atlantic league might take. The most radical proposal would involve the creation of a yearlong domestic division comprising the very best from Scotland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden. These countries all boast clubs who have, at some point in history, been able to offer reasonable competition in Europe: for obvious examples, see Celtic, Copenhagen, Ajax, Club Brugge, Rosenborg, and Malmö FF. However, all of these sides, even Ajax, are now about as far away from being able to seriously challenge for the Champions League title as they’ve ever been. A general absence of domestic competition and international interest has seen these sides lose pace with those at the top of Europe’s most marketable leagues, and they’ve paid a heavy price.

This kind of North Atlantic league — which would potentially see these sides move out of their national pyramids altogether — while certainly not a panacea, could offer a step in the right direction. Greater competition and international interest would certainly generate wealth and prestige where it is currently lacking, and offer these clubs as good a chance of gradually working their way back to the big time as they’re going to get — particularly if the restructuring of the Champions League goes ahead as has been reported. It is an interesting possibility that the clubs could favour, but it does bring into play a potential conflict with the existing national governing bodies, who are sure to want to keep their biggest clubs — and best money spinners — under their own dominion. It seems telling that Regan’s reported proposal is rather less radical than the one postulated above. Per the Guardian:

Regan’s vision is that Scottish clubs who drop out of Europe before Christmas could enter a cross-border league involving teams in an identical situation in other countries. One potential and serious option would bring groups of six countries, such as those in northern Europe or the Balkans, together to play in tandem with respective domestic leagues.

That resembles an even lower-quality version of the Europa League, and it would be a surprise to see such a competition offer a way out of the current predicament. However, this serves as an illustration of a potential conflict that could erupt between national football associations and the clubs themselves in the coming months and years. As with anything on such a scale, the precarious balance of football’s interests is such that no solution will be easily reached, and it’s unlikely every party will be content with the resolution. There’s also the issue of ramifications on the other clubs outside of the select “North Atlantic” few: Presumably some permanent link would have to be maintained with existing domestic divisions to stop this becoming a rickety lifeboat for a small number of lucky teams.

But for now, these developments are positive, and certainly something to keep a watch on. Only time will tell whether the smaller “big” clubs of northern Europe have enough leverage to pull off such a feat of re-organisation, but they’re not taking their status as continental second-class citizens lying down. They’re taking steps to try and boost the competitiveness of an increasingly inegalitarian sport, and for that we should be fully supportive of their efforts. There may yet be some small hope for the future of world football.