Chapter 345: The secret weapon to enter the Bundesliga! Create another world championship! Can't catch up and can't do it! [Subscribe]

Manchester United headquarters in Soho, London.

Ed Woodward sat in his home office, aimlessly scrolling through news and videos on the Internet.

I was constantly sighing in my heart: Bayswater Chinese really make money! 1.6 billion pounds in 5 years, which is far more than Manchester United.

In Ed Woodward's plan, Manchester United's jersey sponsorship is as high as 75 million pounds, which makes Ed Woodward very proud.

When he reported to the Glazer brothers in the United States before, he also straightened his back.

But the problem is that Manchester United's chest advertising sponsorship is only 47 million pounds a year.

What about the Chinese in Bayswater?

Although it is counted together with the other five teams, anyone with a discerning eye can see that most of the influence is brought by the Chinese in Bayswater.

£320 million a year, my God! It's outrageous to think about it!

An even bigger blow to Ed Woodward was Vodafone.

Speaking of which, this world-renowned telecommunications operator has a long-standing relationship with Manchester United.

In 2000, after Ferguson's Manchester United won the treble, the shirt sponsorship was switched from Sharp, with which they had cooperated for more than a decade, to Vodafone, which was very popular at the time.

That period can be said to be the most prosperous years for Manchester United fans, carrying the fond memories of countless fans.

Starting from 2006, Vodafone became AIG Insurance, then AON, and in 2014 it became Chevrolet.

But many fans still miss the Vodafone of the past.

In fact, in 2014, before cooperating with Chevrolet, Ed Woodward visited Vodafone and strongly recommended Manchester United, but the other party was not very interested.

But unexpectedly, they turned around and signed Bayswater Chinese.

It's just the sleeve advertisement! 30 million pounds a year! It's almost catching up with Manchester United's chest advertisement!

Of course, the current sleeve badge advertising for the Chinese at Bayswater is for China Umbro, which costs £5 million a year.

But everyone knows that the reason behind this is Yang Cheng. It is said that it is his family's property and it can be considered a friendly price.

In any case, the Bayswater Chinese jersey is definitely the most expensive jersey in the world of football! Just when Ed Woodward was depressed, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.

San Dezi grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID: Joel Glazer.

He suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.

But anyway, he quickly answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Glazer."

"Ed, did you see the news just now?"

"What news?"

"Bayswater Chinese, is there any hotter news than him right now?"

San Dezi smiled awkwardly and said, "I saw it."

"Why is it that Manchester United, as a Premier League team, earns so much less from sponsorship than Bayswater Chinese?"

“They have really done very well in recent years.”

"But you didn't say that before. You said results are not everything. Business has its own rules. So we spent so much money to recruit Pogba, Ronaldo and Martial. Where is the commercial value?"

"Mr. Glazer, our contract with Chevrolet is quite long."

"Then think of a way. Also, what armband did they develop that we don't have?"

“We are currently researching and seeking investment.”

"Then hurry up, it's 30 million pounds a year." Joel Glazer was a little impatient on the phone.

Sandezi quickly agreed.

He is just a worker, but he does not work for Manchester United, but for the Glazer family.

"Also, hurry up and talk to Chevrolet and Adidas. We didn't have Cristiano Ronaldo before, but now we have him. Should we raise the price again?"

Ed Woodward really wanted to yell: Do you still have a sense of contract? The Chinese in Bayswater signed contracts of 5 million per year and 30 million per year. They knew they were losing money, but they still abided by it until now.

If you turn around and raise the price for the sponsor, who would dare to sign with you in the future? Although he was complaining in his heart, Ed Woodward still nodded politely on the surface.

"Okay, I understand."

"Do it as soon as possible. If the Chinese in Bayswater can do it, we at Manchester United can do it too!"

"Um."

Ed Woodward is desperate.

I really can't do it!

…

“This is a bit outrageous!”

In the president's office at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the Spanish capital Madrid, Florentino pointed to the latest news and spoke to general manager Jose Sanchez.

"Our chest advertising sponsorship is only 32 million euros a year, while their sleeve badge is 30 million pounds."

"Pounds!"

Although the exchange rate of the pound has dropped a lot in recent years, it is still higher than the euro.

All in all, the armband of Bayswater Chinese is similar to the chest sponsorship of Real Madrid.

This almost made Florentino collapse!

The business empire that I worked so hard to build is not as good as someone else's cuff. It's outrageous!

"They are six teams, and the situation in the next five years is taken into consideration," Jose Sanchez explained helplessly.

To put it simply, the sponsors are very optimistic about the development trends of these six teams in the next five years, so they gave such a high valuation.

If the development in the next five years is not as good as expected, the next contract will definitely be devalued.

Sponsors are not stupid and they will have their own set of evaluation criteria.

"Now, the Chinese in Bayswater are making too much money, we can never catch up!" Florentino shook his head helplessly.

"Not only are their sponsorship fees increasing, but their requirements and assessments for sponsors are also constantly increasing. It will become increasingly difficult for us to catch up."

It has always been the case that top football teams evaluate their sponsors.

For example, Omar Berrada was previously responsible for investigating sponsors at Barcelona.

After all, wealthy teams also have to have their own considerations. Although they endorse sponsors for money, if the sponsors are too bad, it will in turn affect the commercial value and brand reputation of the wealthy teams.

The commercial departments of top football teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona fly around the world every year to inspect sponsors and partners.

And every wealthy family has its own set of standards.

The simplest criterion is that many top clubs, including Bayswater Chinese, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona, ​​now do not want sponsorship from bookmakers or online gambling companies.

This is damaging to the image.

But looking at the five major leagues, how many teams still take money from these bookmakers and gambling companies?

That's the difference in standards.

Just like the American Internet company called Priceline.

Why spend a huge amount of money to sponsor Bayswater Chinese? To put it bluntly, it is because Bayswater Chinese has high requirements for sponsors, and they can pay such a high price. If they sign this contract, they will be more confident when they talk to other partners in the future.

Nowadays, it is generally recognized in the industry that the Chinese in Bayswater have the highest requirements.

But their sponsorship fees are also the most expensive.

"I heard that Audi also wants to compete for the Chinese car sponsorship contract of Bayswater?" Florentino's face was not very good. Audi has been cooperating with Real Madrid for many years.

Of course, Audi not only sponsors Real Madrid, but also top teams such as Barcelona and AC Milan.

“Yes, the sponsorship between Bayswater Chinese and Mercedes-Benz is until the end of the 2015/16 season. Audi is very interested and it is said that the price and conditions offered are very high, but Mercedes-Benz is also negotiating a contract extension.”

Florentino shook his head speechlessly.

"I found that since our title of the world's top-earning company was taken away by the Chinese in Bayswater, it seemed that all our good luck was gradually drifting away from us."

Jose Sanchez smiled helplessly, "After all, professional football is also a winner-takes-all world."

In La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona take almost half of the broadcasting revenue.

This forces the La Liga to step up and initiate reforms, otherwise other clubs will not survive.

But how do we reform things like advertising sponsorship?

Bayswater Chinese have such influence and appeal, what can we do? An armband is worth 30 million pounds, which is outrageous!

Oh, by the way, they can even sell the naming rights of their training base.

That's also £30 million per year.

Bought it from Qatar Tourism Authority.

This is outrageous!

…

Frankfurt Old Town.

In an upscale private club, Wolfgang Stubing, who was just elected chairman of the Frankfurt Supervisory Board on June 8, welcomed his last guest.

Reinhard Raubal, chairman of Borussia Dortmund and vice-president of the German Football Association.

When 68-year-old Raubal walked into the private box, he saw that in addition to Wolfgang Stubin, there was another person present, Reinhard Grindel, the financial director of the German Football Association.

The anti-corruption storm of FIFA that just ended has swept the entire world football.

Not only did FIFA and UEFA get directly beheaded, but the football confederations of all continents and national football associations also launched strong anti-corruption campaigns.

The president of the German Football Association, no, now it should be called the former president Wolfgang Niersbach, was dismissed because of the vote-buying and World Cup bid scandal, so now the German Football Association is temporarily guided by two vice presidents.

In addition to Raubal, the other vice chairman is Rainer Koch.

The German Football Association will hold an election for the president at the end of the year. Laubal is very old and it is basically certain that he will not run for the election.

One of the two people with the highest voice at the moment is the 54-year-old financial director Grindel in front of Raubal.

The other is 56-year-old Rainer Koch.

Grindel is a latecomer to football. He first worked at German television. From 2002 to now, he has been working in the German Bundestag. From 2011 to 2014, he served as the first vice chairman of the Lower Saxony Football Association.

Since 2013, he has served as financial director of the German Football Association.

If Grindel is a typical cross-field official, then Rainer Koch is a typical football official.

He has worked as a coach, youth trainer, coached youth teams, worked in regional youth training director and many other positions. He has been promoted step by step from the football system and has served as vice chairman of the Football Association since 2007.

The competition between these two people, to some extent, also represents the impact of two different ideas.

Just like on the 50+1 policy, Rainer Koch has always stated in front of the media that he will firmly defend it.

This earned him recognition from countless fans.

Grindel did not dare to express his opinion, but he has always insisted that German football needs to make more changes in order to catch up with other European leagues.

It is clear that he supports abolishing or amending the 50+1 policy.

What about Raubal? This old fox was impeccable in both public and private situations, without revealing any clues.

But he has a good relationship with both sides.

No one knows which side he is more inclined to.

But he accepted Stubbing's invitation and came to the box.

It's like a signal.

"Wolfgang, have you been traveling to England a little too much lately?"

As soon as they sat down, Raubal smiled at Stubin in a teasing manner.

Stubin didn't take it seriously either. "You don't know, that scene was really spectacular. Dozens of sponsors were bidding there. It was sold for 1.6 billion pounds in 5 years. My God, 1.6 billion, and it was fucking pounds!"

At this point, Stubbing seemed to be on fire.

“The Bayswater Chinese are really making a lot of money now, and their club alliance, with the big ones leading the small ones, is developing very quickly,” Grindel praised.

"Yes, there were many doubts before, but now that the auction results are out, the whole world is going crazy."

"I was in London and heard the media reporters on Fleet Street discussing that many Premier League teams were going to do the same. Manchester City has already set up the City Football Group, Abramovich is also ready to move, and there is also the Saudi consortium behind Liverpool..."

"You say, if their clubs are like Bayswater Chinese, they can create a whole club alliance, from South America to the Eredivisie and Portuguese Super League, from youth training to semi-adults to players, and train them all by themselves..."

"Oh my God, how is our club going to compete with them?"

Grindel nodded repeatedly.

But at this time, Raubal replied indifferently, "But they are now showing signs of being too dependent on capital, which is very dangerous, just like us back then."

"Come on, Reinhard, look at Nice. They earned £270 million in transfers this summer. How many big teams in Europe are trying to poach their players? They are voting with their feet."

"And Atalanta, they were losing so much money before, but what about now? They have many talented players in their youth training, and the first team is getting stronger and stronger. They are expected to win the Serie A championship this season."

Stubin said this and looked deeply at Raubal. "If you ask me, Reinhard, you Dortmund have never been able to beat Bayern in these years. In the final analysis, you are still limited."

When the topic came up, Raubal just smiled and stopped talking.

"By the way, did you meet Yang Cheng when you went to London this time?" Grindel changed the subject appropriately to avoid embarrassment.

"Yes, he is the one who can do great things. We talked for a while. He is too busy now."

Everyone nodded.

He currently also serves as Chairman of FIFA's Supervisory Board.

"Although we didn't talk much, from what he revealed, I think he is also very interested in entering the Bundesliga. He also feels that our Bundesliga is seriously underestimated."

"As the leader of the European economy, our current football league is still developing too slowly, especially in terms of globalization, and is lagging behind. Even Ligue 1 is ahead of us."

Having said that, Stubbing drank a glass of wine to moisten his throat before continuing.

"Otherwise, people look at things completely differently from us, and their perspectives are different from ours."

Hearing this, not only Grindel, but even Raubal raised his head with a look of concern.

"Yang Cheng said that the Premier League has natural advantages in language and cultural communication, Spain has the talent pool of South America, France has a wealth of talent and Africa is a talent base, so what do we have in Germany?"

"Our advantage lies in Eastern Europe, but we have done very poorly in the past few years. The globalization of the Bundesliga has not been promoted, and we have no advantage in attracting foreign talents."

"They are really amazing. I just told me a statistic that most of the sponsors of the 18 Bundesliga teams are German companies. But for the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1, no matter how much the sponsorship fee is, most of them are multinational companies."

"We are like a closed little circle, entertaining ourselves here."

The last sentence was obviously not said by Yang Cheng, but was Stubin’s own summary.

But this is true.

Grindel knew exactly what Stubbing was thinking.

He even knew it before Stubin ran for chairman of the supervisory board of Frankfurt.

Raubal knew it just as well.

After a few seconds of silence in the box, Raubal coughed lightly.

"Martin Kind of Hannover 96 has been very active recently. He has secretly contacted several people and made a lot of connections."

This incoherent sentence made the other two people present feel a little strange.

"What does he want to do?" asked Stubbing with concern.

He knew Raubal and would never do anything without a purpose.

“He started investing in Hannover 96 in February 1997.”

Raubal's words made the other two people present fall into deep thought.

Then, everyone suddenly understood.

February 1998.

It has been 18 years since then.

The German Football Association's 50+1 policy was formulated in 1999, but Hannover 96 was not included in the exception at that time.

According to regulations, investors must continue to invest in the club for 20 years before they are eligible to apply for an exemption.

Martin Kinder is almost 20 years old.

"He's quite old, isn't he?" Grindel asked with amusement.

"71 years old," Raubal replied.

But it has nothing to do with age.

If we can beat Hannover 96, it will be like getting a special ticket.

In Germany, football is never just football!

"Is the outlook optimistic?" Stubin asked again with concern.

"If he is optimistic, do you think he will still run around?" Raubal asked back.

"But there has to be an explanation, right? Didn't the previous rule say that those who invested for 20 years could be exempted? What do they say now? Only those clubs of big conglomerates and big companies can be exempted, not others?"

Stubbing was a little excited.

If he can't get through this, then it will undoubtedly be another door blocked for him.

"When the 50+1 policy was formulated in the past, the regulations were indeed very vague. It said that major support would be provided for 20 consecutive years, but there was no clear definition or limit of major support."

This is a loophole in the regulations.

"In December 2014, after Hoffenheim's problems arose, the German Football Association held a discussion and issued an explanatory guide, which clearly specified the major support. In principle, the funds invested within 20 years must be at least the same standard as the club's main sponsor, and must be agreed by the club and the Bundesliga board of directors."

"Martin Kind is far from having that share. He is a shareholder, but he didn't invest much money."

When Stubin heard this, he shook his head helplessly.

"So this means that this road is completely impassable?"

According to Stubin, it would be best if the German Football Association relaxed the policy appropriately, for example, shortening the 20 years to 10 years or even 5 years.

This way Yang Cheng can see it and catch it.

20 years is too long, who knows what will happen in 20 years, right?

But now it seems that it is difficult to shorten it.

"Don't you understand, Wolfgang?"

When Raubal saw his look, he smiled bitterly with some helplessness.

"Your biggest enemy has never been the German Football Association, never been us, and not even the Bundesliga clubs."

"Look at the Bundesliga now. How many clubs are left that have not undergone shareholding reform? Which club has not sold shares to the outside world? When has the German Football Association not turned a blind eye?"

"The regulations say that companies cannot invest in multiple clubs at the same time, but how many clubs can Volkswagen invest in?"

"Without this investment, the club would go bankrupt!"

"Look at the current situation. The entire Bundesliga seems to be doing well, but in fact it is a mess and full of corruption. Is this what we want to see?"

“Don’t we know that there are problems with this model?”

Stubing and Grindle were both speechless.

Everyone can grumble and complain.

But this doesn’t change anything at all!

"Do you know how many clubs have transferred the league's game licenses by setting up joint-stock companies? On the surface, it still looks like 50+1, but in reality? They have been hollowed out long ago, and even the game licenses are not owned by the clubs!"

The weapon that the German Football Association uses to force all clubs to comply with the 50+1 policy is the competition license.

From the outside, the competition license in the hands of the club and in the hands of the joint-stock company looks the same, but in legal terms, it is different.

The joint-stock company has obtained the competition license, so do they have the voting rights in the meetings organized by the German Football Association?

After all the shares of this company are sold, who will participate in the competition? The regulations state that a company cannot hold more than 10% of the shares of two or more clubs at the same time.

Then just hold one.

Besides, the public holds shares in several companies, and their holdings exceed 10%.

Is there any way to do it?

Right now, everything is a mess in itself and many clubs are trying to find money.

Without money, they will die!

So who is 50+1’s biggest enemy?

It's the fans! It's the fans of Germany!

In the past ten years or so, they have been completely brainwashed! They think that their own set of rules is the most advanced and scientific.

Although the development is a little slower, it is at least stable.

But is it really so?

So many clubs fall into business difficulties every year, can't they see it? In addition to the fans, there are some clubs in the middle and lower reaches of the Bundesliga and the Bundesliga.

They don't want to see this rule broken at all.

But when it comes to voting, they are the majority.

There are these clubs inside and fans outside. As long as anyone dares to propose a vote, these people inside will stand up and shout in the media, and the fans will immediately rise up and attack, and everyone must step down!

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

In this situation, who dares to stand up?

Who dares to challenge the 50+1 policy?

The three people present were all aware of these things, but there was nothing they could do.

"Wolfgang, now that you are the chairman of the supervisory board, perhaps you can convince Yang Cheng to acquire shares, just like other clubs, secretly." Grindel suggested.

Stubin smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I have spoken to Bayswater Chinese’s CEO Adam Crozier and CFO, and the lawyers warned that there is a lack of security.”

"An investment of 100 million or 200 million euros, or foreign capital, what do you think?"

If you ask yourself, it is indeed true.

I have invested so much money. Now you, Stubin, are the chairman of the board of supervisors. You can certainly promise to protect me. But what if you are voted out in two or three years? Will the next person be willing to protect me? If I meet a bad person, he will kill me and I may not even get my money back.

"They have studied our German laws and 50+1 policy and proposed another approach."

This is actually the real purpose of Stubin inviting the two of them out.

Complaining and grumbling? They don't have that much time.

"What idea?"

"Yang Cheng's legal team asked whether they could directly file a lawsuit in the German Federal Court, alleging that the 50+1 policy violated Germany's antitrust law and invalidate the 50+1 policy?"

“Antitrust law?”

Raubal and Grindel were both stunned.

They haven't really studied this.

But they really didn't understand the specific legal issues.

"Have they studied it?" Raubal asked with concern.

Stubbing nodded, "We all know how strong Yang Cheng and the Bayswater Chinese legal team are. FIFA and UEFA investigated them at the same time, and it turned out that there was no problem with their compliance at all."

"It is said that they have organized a special team to study this matter and think that they can try to sue from the perspective of antitrust law."

Raubal and Grindel looked at each other, both thinking that this matter seemed a little outrageous.

Even beyond their control.

But they all hope that the 50+1 policy can be abolished, or at least relaxed.

RB Leipzig's path is blocked, and Hannover 96's path is basically not feasible.

If the antitrust law wins the lawsuit, that would be another approach.

"What are they going to do?" Raubal asked with concern.

"It is still under study and requires our cooperation."

Stubin immediately leaned over and whispered.

The general meaning is that Frankfurt sells shares to the Chinese company founded by Yang Cheng through a joint-stock company.

When this Chinese company takes charge of Frankfurt, it will inevitably trigger the 50+1 policy.

Then the deal will be called off.

At that time, they will take the opportunity to sue the 50+1 policy for illegal monopoly.

"Their legal team said that there is a legal paradox between the antitrust law and the 50+1 policy currently implemented by the Bundesliga. They are very sure!"

After hearing this, Raubal couldn't help but applaud and said he was so impressed!

He doesn't understand the law, but Yang Cheng is willing to invest so much money and has always attached great importance to compliance. If his team says there is such a problem, then there must be one.

"That's what we call awesome!" Raubal smiled and praised.

How many German professional clubs have tried so many ways and studied for so many years but have not been able to dig up any explosive information and could only poach players secretly. As a result, the other party made a move and directly grasped a key core issue.

Of course, whether it will work or not will probably have to be tested in practice.

After all, no one knows unless they have tried it.

No one knows how big of a reaction the fans will get.

If there are complaints at that time, even if it is illegal, Yang Cheng will still be kicked out.

"Then you guys prepare first and let's talk about everything after the election!" Raubal suggested.

Both Stubbing and Grindel nodded.

Grindel supports reform, and if he is elected, many things will be much easier.

On the contrary, if Rainer Koch were elected, the resistance would be even greater.

"This is a killer move. Don't tell anyone once you leave this door, so as not to alert the enemy!" Raubal reminded again.

Both of them nodded.

…

As the players gradually returned to the team, the training for the new season also kicked off.

After the auction ended, Yang Cheng completely put the matter behind him and began to train and prepare for the new season.

Salah reported to the team early and had a long conversation with Yang Cheng.

Yang Cheng actually values ​​this Egyptian star very much.

His commercial value is really high.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, for a long time, Salah's jersey sales were at the top of the world football, even not inferior to Ronaldo and Messi.

Salah has a huge influence in North Africa and the Middle East.

This is also of great appeal to the Chinese in Bayswater.

More importantly, there is no doubt about Salah's strength.

Yang Cheng said that at Bayswater Chinese, he doesn't need to worry about not being able to play in the game.

Without mentioning the young players, the first team still has 23 players and will have to fight on multiple fronts in the new season. In this case, Salah will have a lot of opportunities to play.

Of course, if he wants to gain a foothold, he must suppress Sterling, Walcott, and even Gareth Bale in the competition.

As long as he is in good enough condition, he can play!

This year, the Bayswater Chinese will still go to North America to participate in the International Champions Cup.

But it’s different from previous years.

This time the team will first train in London, play a few warm-up matches with surrounding areas, and then go to the United States to play in the International Champions Cup.

After all, the team's annual overseas training camps have somewhat disappointed local fans.

Especially some of the cooperating clubs in the surrounding areas.

For the Chinese in Bayswater, a warm-up match there means hundreds of thousands of pounds in income.

After the training camp started, Yang Cheng gradually transferred more power to Flick.

Everyone also realized that the German was gradually taking over the baton of head coach.

They are not stupid and they all know what is going on, so everyone is working hard.

Flick is a smart man, and he gets along well with the players and has a good relationship in the locker room. The players are basically able to accept him.

The only regret is Yang Cheng.

But since Flick joined the team, the players have been mentally prepared.

Previously, when Yang Cheng was elected chairman of the FIFA Supervisory Board, some people even said that he would no longer coach.

At least the players are given a chance now.

They put in their best effort and practiced very hard, and the whole team was holding their breath.

Yang Cheng also cherishes the time he spends with the players.

After all, we have worked together for more than ten years.

Although he is not directing the training in person now, he always appears on the sidelines to "supervise" the players' training.

Naturally, he also saw the clues.

This feeling is actually like Yang Cheng’s previous life, the Manchester United team in the 12/13 season.

Ferguson is about to retire, and everyone at Manchester United is eager to give Ferguson a chance to retire! This is basically the case with the current group of Bayswater Chinese players.

After a week of training at the Brent Training Center, the team began to go out and played three warm-up matches in the surrounding areas.

The opponents are basically teams from lower-level leagues in the surrounding areas.

3 victories.

All the players performed very well.

The team then set off from London to the United States.

Riding on the wave of winning four consecutive Champions League titles and the auction that just ended, the Chinese from Bayswater immediately attracted the attention of countless media and fans after arriving in the United States.

Even daily training can attract many fans to buy tickets to watch.

This allowed everyone to see the influence of the Chinese in Bayswater in North America.

But Yang Cheng was more concerned about the progress at ICC.

On the third day after arriving in the United States, Yang Cheng met two senior executives of ICC, David Pensel and Richard Masters.

…

"Did the trip to Switzerland go smoothly?"

Yang Cheng and others sat down in the hotel's cafe and talked about their stay in Switzerland.

"It went smoothly. Although there were some obstacles, they were not serious and were all resolved."

David Pensel was obviously very satisfied with the result.

He and Richard Masters spent more than a week in Switzerland, mainly negotiating with FIFA.

Originally, according to the agreement between Yang Cheng and David Gill, Yang Cheng had to wait until he promoted David Gill to the position of FIFA President, and then David Gill would facilitate the International Champions Cup to be recognized by FIFA and obtain authorization.

This brings us to the necessity of authorization.

In theory, FIFA is the highest governing body in the field of football. If it does not obtain this authorization, it would be unjust and can be abolished at any time by FIFA or the continental football associations.

Of course, there are many complex legal issues involved.

There are precedents for this before.

For example, some inter-continental warm-up matches.

If the profits are big enough, the continental football federations and national football associations will not let it go.

It could end up being an endless legal issue.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, the International Champions Cup eventually failed to continue. In addition to the blind expansion of the event organizers, which led to a decline in market appeal, another very important reason was that they had been slow to obtain recognition from FIFA.

Since 2016, there have been rumors that FIFA wants to expand the Club World Cup and use it to attack the International Champions Cup and seize this big piece of fat.

This would be a huge threat to a competition.

Not to mention anything else, big-name sponsors will be afraid and dare not enter.

Why? I spent so much money to sponsor you, and now you are banned. Isn't my money just wasted?

Those big-name sponsors support an event in the hope of running the event and turning it into a long-term collaboration.

So, not being able to get authorization wasn’t a big deal at first.

But after developing to a certain extent, the disadvantages will be exposed.

Let me ask, if FIFA really expands the Club World Cup and moves it to July or August to compete with the International Champions Cup, how can the International Champions Cup stop it? At that time, will the club participate in the International Champions Cup? Or participate in the Club World Cup? Of course, nowadays, Yang Cheng's existence will make it impossible for such a thing to happen.

And he has been planning this matter all along.

Such a big piece of fat meat must be eaten by yourself.

The previous agreement with David Gill?

It still counts now, but I can get the authorization myself, without you, David Gill.

The most important thing is that FIFA and the continental football associations have basically no competitions in July and August.

There is no resistance to giving this authorization.

“After receiving this authorization, we will be an officially recognized event by FIFA!”

When Richard Masters reached this point, he also rubbed his hands and was eager to try it out.

"Next we will definitely work hard, especially with all the major sponsors, to make this event bigger and stronger as soon as possible."

The best way to make an event bigger and stronger is to attract investment.

With the accumulated experience of the past few years as a foundation and now having obtained the authorization from FIFA, I believe that major sponsors can also enter the market with confidence.

Sponsors bring in lucrative sponsorship income, which in turn is converted into appearance fees and match bonuses for the team.

When all the participating teams are making a lot of money, everything will come naturally.

According to David Pensel, in the past few years, the International Champions Cup has been broadcast live on television in North America, Asia, the Middle East, South America and Europe.

And more and more countries and regions are broadcasting live.

It can be said that the International Champions Cup has been cultivating the market over the past few years.

Now that we have obtained the authorization, we must start working hard.

"Now it's 12+4, and we will still follow this framework for the time being, but next, you still need to talk more with sponsors and further expand the army if possible!" Yang Cheng suggested.

"Continue to expand the army?"

David Pensel and Richard Masters were both a little surprised.

"That's right. As long as the sponsors are willing to pay and the appearance fees are raised, the army expansion is inevitable!"

This is the best time to seize the market.

If we don’t expand now, do we have to wait for other events to fill the gap in the market? “My idea is to mainly invite teams from South America, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe to participate, and make it a tournament similar to the Club World Cup.”

David Pensel's eyes suddenly lit up, "An expanded version of the Club World Cup!"

"Yes, the time is still July and August, and we will still focus on pre-season games."

After Yang Cheng said this, David Pensel and Richard Masters immediately understood.

They are all very smart people, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are today.

With just a few hints from Yang Cheng, they immediately guessed the potential of this event.

Now that we have obtained the authorization, we must run this event into an international competition.

Previously, all 16 teams were European.

This won’t work, it’s not international enough.

Although the club teams in Africa, North America, Asia, South America and other continents are lacking in strength, their respective countries and regions still have real influence.

The most important thing is a name.

World champions! The World Cup is a world championship for national teams. Although the Club World Cup is known as a world championship for clubs, it has few participating teams, a tight schedule, and a serious lack of influence.

More importantly, there was nothing to see.

Every year, European teams win the championship. Is that fun? Who wants to watch a game without suspense? What about now?

By invitation only.

Of course, European teams have the strongest box office appeal, but we also need to give European teams some strength.

The champions and runners-up of North America, the strong teams in the South American Libertadores Cup, and the strong teams in Africa and Asia are all invited to come and play together.

Still can't beat your European teams? By then, will the value of the Club World Cup be higher than that of the International Champions Cup? Apart from other things, how much influence will the Club World Cup have if it is played in mid-December, when the schedule is the most intensive? But July and August are different.

This is the tournament window period.

Playing games during this period almost monopolizes the entire market!

The champion decided at this time is the real club world champion!

"But there is a question: Will there be too many games? Will the schedule be too tight?"

Previously, when the International Champions Cup was expanding, the ICC had been worried about this issue.

After all, the league will start in mid-August.

"Don't worry, we can move the event forward. As long as the appearance fee is high enough and the revenue from the competition is big enough, the players and clubs will be happy to participate."

David Pensel thought about it and realized that this was the truth.

As long as the prize money is high enough, the club will definitely get serious about it, and the value of the event will naturally increase.

As for the pressure on the players...

"I am considering proposing five substitutions per game to relieve the pressure on the players."

5 substitutions? Everyone present was very surprised.

This is definitely a revolutionary proposal.

Even subverted! Why? Most of the current game strategies are derived from three substitutions.

But if he can change it 5 times, it means that the coach has 2 more opportunities to change the course of the game.

More importantly, with two more people, the team's overall physical output will be greatly improved in the second half of the game.

It's like Klopp's Dortmund team. Even though he gave his all, the team's physical strength could only barely last 60 minutes.

Then you have to change people.

What if the number of substitutions is increased from 3 to 5?

The competitiveness of Klopp's style of play will be greatly improved.

But most importantly, it can greatly increase the suspense of the game.

Overall, it is definitely beneficial to strong teams, but it is very limited.

But the chain reactions it brings, such as game rhythm, game suspense, etc., will undoubtedly make football games more interesting.

At the very least, garbage time will be reduced a lot.

What Yang Cheng said about relieving the pressure on the players has a very obvious effect.

Yang Cheng himself found it a little funny.

On the one hand, as a capitalist, he is trying every means to expand and strengthen his business, which inevitably increases the number of games for the players.

But on the other hand, he does want to help reduce the burden on the players.

Isn’t this contradictory? But sometimes, when you think about it, aren’t all people contradictory?

If we can really make this pie bigger, the players will get more appearance fees and bonuses.

After all, there should be more benefits.

(End of this chapter)