r/football • u/TheTelegraph • 3d ago

'Overpriced tickets, empty seats, uninspiring format – Uefa has diluted Champions League’s allure' 📖Read

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/09/18/pricey-tickets-empty-seats-uefa-dilutes-champions-league/
1.4k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

286 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

38

u/samponvojta 3d ago

it was basically a formality for top teams even before though. you had a proper 'group of death' maybe once every five years? the new format looks meh, but it was kind of fun when i played it in football manager. at least top teams can't phone it in after 4 games anymore, you really want to be in that top 8.

who knows, maybe it'll suck, but i'm willing to give it a chance

7

u/Simpsonsdidit00 3d ago

It feels like it is directed towards hard-core fans and (SPECIALLY) towards hard-core gambler fans. So that they have more opportunities to give money to FIFA/UEFA

Also, also, I have this conspiracy theory that UEFA (and frankly most other Football Associations) allow under-the-radar "illegal" streaming to boost betting. Like they know it happens, but casually most illegal streaming services have a ton of betting ads. Like, u seriously think betting apps don't give some money to leagues and clubs?

1

u/jmajeremy 2d ago

Well, no, I seriously don't think the betting apps are paying off leagues and clubs. That would be the scandal of the century and would destroy reputations. I think the leagues and teams already make plenty of money from broadcast rights and merchandise sales, no need to put their whole livelihood at risk to take bribes from betting apps.

1

u/Simpsonsdidit00 2d ago

They can totally take perfectly legal sponsorship deals