The Qatari royal family are planning on releasing plans next month to launch a new soccer club tournament to be held every two years in Qatar and the neighboring Gulf states, according to an exclusive in The Times newspaper. The tournament would rival the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup, and would be held every second summer.
Named the Dream Football League (DFL), the tournament would invite some of the biggest names in world football including teams from the Premier League.
The tournament makes a lot of sense from a Qatari perspective — helping them be seen as a major player in the sport before the 2022 World Cup and inviting teams to play in the Middle East instead of having to fly to Asia or North America. The clubs themselves would be offered enormous financial rewards to participate.
The Dream Football League would feature 24 teams from around the world.
Not surprisingly, FIFA is not going to look at this idea too favorably. The tournament could be seen as a clear threat to the power that FIFA holds within the sport.
What do you think? Are you in favor of the club tournament or not? Share your opinions in the comments section below.
Here are tonight’s Premier League news headlines:
- Exclusive: Sheikhs shake world game — The Times
- Arsène Wenger to ring Arsenal changes at Bayern Munich as reality bites — The Guardian
- Arsenal in disarray as Wojciech Szczesny’s mental state is questioned — The Independent
- Gunners Give In, Disarray & Sold out: Arsenal slammed in Wednesday’s back pages — 101GG
- Rio Ferdinand escapes FA action for ‘shove’ on Fernando Torres — The Independent
- Arsene Wenger stayed loyal to Arsenal when he could have joined Bayern Munich — The Mail
- Joe Allen says his impending shoulder operation will leave him on the sidelines for 3 months — Sky Sports
- George Graham questions Arsenal transfer policy — The Independent
- Southampton charged with failure to control players following penalty incident against Norwich — Telegraph
- Sunderland offer trial to Zambia international defender Stoppila Sunzu — The Mail
- Spurs, Chelsea & Liverpool are statistically the most in-form EPL teams right now — Squawka
- Barry Davies pays tribute to former colleague Tony Gubba, who has died aged 69 — BBC Sport
- Michael Laudrup deal gives Swansea City stability says Ashley Williams — Wales Online
- West Bromwich Albion announce pre-tax profits of £1.5m — The Mail
- Roberto Di Matteo rules out Premier League return at Reading — Telegraph
- Garcia offers whistleblower anonymity during Qatar World Cup investigation — Sporting Intelligence
- Nigel Adkins takes Southampton to tribunal in bid to resolve feud with Nicola Cortese — Telegraph
- Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill bans players from Cheltenham Festival — The Mail
The Nightly EPL is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s British newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly EPL on EPL Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
